A Deadly Secret
by PB7
Summary: After witnessing a pit bull murder an innocent pup, Leonard must avoid being torn to shreds but can't tell anyone of his discovery, risking his and his friends' lives.
1. Murder In the Junkyard

**Chapter 1: Murder In The Junkyard**

It was a warm summer evening in the Central Park Zoo. The sun was now only a semi-circle peaking over the horizon. All was peaceful, a nice cool breeze swung through the trees and gates of the habitats, and colorful butterflies flew through the air. It all would've remained peaceful if a certain quadrant of penguin commandos hadn't chosen today to test Kowalski's new invention.

"Okay, Kowalski, what do we have this time?" Skipper asked his lieutenant. The four of them were on their habitat's island.

"Skipper, I have invented…" He got ready to rip the sheet from over-top his latest invention. "The Penguin Jetpack 3000!" He pulled the sheet from the invention to reveal a backpack shaped invention with large two-liter sodas on the side. Along with foam-finger wings to help with stability. "PJ for short," Kowalski added with a smug smile.

"What was wrong with our other jetpacks?" Private asked.

"Private, those little things were only able to clear a 45 mile radius! This one will go _way _farther!" Kowalski explained.

"Oh, really, Kowalski? Have you taken any safety precautions before this thing gets airborne?" Skipper asked suspiciously.

"Pft! Of course!" Kowalski exclaimed. Skipper looked at him as if to say, 'Show me.' Kowalski sighed and turned it around. "Look, there's a built in parachute here in case something goes wrong. Which it won't. And there's no possible way it can explode. There's nothing here that could react with each other to create any kind of spark. Satisfied?"

Skipper rubbed his chin. "Okay. So, who's gonna test it?" Private began backing toward the hatch; Skipper noticed him trying to slip away. "Private! You're up!" Private sighed in response.

After strapping him in and putting a helmet on his head and goggles on his face, they prepared for launch.

"Kowalski…Are you sure I'll be safe?" Private asked worriedly.

"You'll be fine! Just hang on, and be sure to keep your balance," Kowalski encouraged.

"How fast does this thing go?" Private asked.

"Private, I've done every calculation. Twice, in fact! I assure you, nothing will go wrong! Any more questions?"

"Um…Just one…Is the first aid kit on hand?"

Kowalski laughed. "First aid kit? Private, trust me, will you?"

"S-Sure, Kowalski," Private replied in a shaky voice.

Kowalski sighed. "Alright. Let's get ready. Now, when I say so, pull this string," Kowalski instructed putting a string in his flipper.

"Okay…" Private replied.

Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico stepped back. "Okay, Private! Liftoff on three!" Kowalski started. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three!"

Private closed his eyes and pulled the string. The PJ ignited and lifted off into the sky at a great speed. Private cried out in terror. The PJ was moving too fast for him to gain control and stability. Skipper and Rico gave Kowalski a hard stare. Kowalski smiled nervously.

"Well…How 'bout that?"

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's go after him."

Meanwhile, Private was whizzing around the zoo, completely out of control as the sun barely dipped below the horizon…The time when nocturnal marsupials wake up from their day slumber.

Leonard the koala woke with a yawn. "Ah, that was a good night's—" he cocked his ear. "What in the—" he turned around to see Private flying straight for him.

"Look out! I can't steer!" Private called. But it was too late. He ran into Leonard and was now carrying him on his flight.

"Aahh! Slow down! Take me back!" Leonard cried clinging on to Private.

"I can't! It's moving too fast!" Private called back. Now, the PJ was taking them over the zoo walls and into the city.

"Make it stop! Please make it stop!" Leonard had his eyes clamped shut, not daring to look down or at how fast they were moving.

"I'm trying!" Private pulled another string, which activated the parachute. However, the speed of the PJ was so fast that the parachute jerked back upon catching wind, causing Leonard to lose his grip. "Leonard!" Private called, but his reflexes weren't fast enough to grab his paw before he fell.

Leonard flailed his arms through the air as he made his descent. Luckily, he fell into an old junkyard, which provided him with a soft, old bed to land on. He bounced a couple of times before landing on the plantless ground; only a few weeds stuck up here and there. Leonard got to his feet with a frustrated grunt and dusted the dirt out of his fur, then stretched his limbs to try to help with the soreness. He looked around, unsure of where he was supposed to go. He couldn't see the exit from his position.

"Oh, those penguins _so _owe me!" he muttered to himself. He started off in one direction, in search of the exit.

It was dark now. The eerie moon began its ascent into the sky. An old swing set creaked and moaned in the distance. Leonard could hear his heart beating as it gradually began to pound and the dry, warm dirt beneath his feet crunched slightly with every step. A sudden flapping sound above his head made him jump, though it was only a crow. Leonard took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"It's okay, Leonard, you're okay. There's nothing to fear…I hope…" He tried to encourage himself, but found it difficult to remain calm in such a place in such a time. He continued walking until he reached the edge of the junkyard. He had hopes of climbing over the fence, but it was too tall and topped with barbed wire. So, instead, he decided to scale the side until he found the exit. He'd walked about five steps when a crunch was heard under his feet. He looked down and cried out in shock, stumbling back and falling to the ground at the sight. It was a rib. Blood was smeared on it. _Fresh_ blood. He rubbed the sole of his foot on the ground in attempt to rub it off and became very nauseous. He then heard something low, but hard to make out in the near distance.

"H-Hello?" Leonard called softly. He got to his feet in hopes of finding someone who could help him find his way out of here. Slowly, he walked through a path between tall piles of tires, bed frames, broken televisions, and other junk. "S-Skipper? Is that you?" he asked quietly, though something was telling him otherwise. Finally, he saw something moving around the bend. He cautiously peeked around to see a rather skinny pit bull. He eyed it curiously and wondered what it was doing here, but what he saw next answered his question. The pit bull was backing a smaller stray dog into a corner. The dog whimpered and cowered, but the pit bull was unfazed and had no remorse for its fear. Leonard tried to turn away, but found himself unable to for he was frozen in horror.

The pit bull snarled his teeth back and contracted his claws, moving forward on the innocent creature.

"I'm in the mood for some deep, red, _blood_…" the dog snarled. His voice was deep and rough, like that of a broken steam engine. The smaller dog didn't seem to know what to do or where to go. He didn't even seem to be that old, maybe just a few years. He just whimpered and stared into the pit bull's sharp, pointed, blood-stained teeth. The pit bull lunged itself at the poor defenseless creature with a growl and tore him limb from limb, its blood pouring onto the ground and the junk that lay upon it.

Leonard turned back and leaned against the junk and cupped his paws over his mouth to avoid vomiting; he couldn't believe what he was witnessing. He pinched himself hard with his claws in hopes that he was only dreaming, but only found the unfortunate news that he wasn't. His heart pounded out of his chest in fear and panic. He heard the snarling, tearing, and chewing sounds come gradually to a halt, indicating that he had finished his horrid meal. Leonard once again refrained from vomiting, not wanting to be heard. He carefully got to his feet and started creeping back the way he came, but came to an abrupt halt when he heard that deep, grubby voice behind him in the near distance.

"I smell something…Something…_Alive_…"

Leonard looked behind him in fear. If not for the shine of the moon, he wouldn't have been able to see the shadow of the beast. He had begun to sniff around the area, and his shadow grew larger as he made his way for the path Leonard was following. Leonard was about to take off running, but tripped on a spring as soon as he took his first flying step forward, hitting the ground with a _thud _that seemed to hang in the air for a few seconds. He cringed and looked back, the pit bull skidded to a halt at the end of the path and saw him. He growled and began walking forward in a stalking motion. Leonard got to his feet and charged forward as fast as he could and the pit bull pursued with great speed, snarling and growling with fearsomeness.

Leonard skidded around the corner and tried not to stumble as he propelled himself forward. He was starting to run out of breath, but he didn't care. He kept running with all of his might with fear burning in his throat like bile. Much to his surprise, he saw the exit in the distance. If he wasn't so terrified, he'd smile. He didn't dare look back. Leonard had almost made it to the exit when the pit bull finally pounced on him and flipped him onto his back. Leonard stared in horror at his large jaws that still dripped blood from his last meal, and breath that had the putrid scent of animal flesh. His lips were snarled back and his red eyes seemed to beat into his soul, and his sharp claws dug into his arms. Finally, Leonard was able to get over the shock just enough to beg for mercy.

"Please! Please don't eat me! I won't tell anyone what I saw! I swear it!" he pleaded.

"Well, we're gonna be sure about that, aren't we?" the pit bull growled.

"I swear it! I swear it!" Leonard pleaded again.

The dog growled violently in response and beared down harder, making it difficult for Leonard to breathe. Suddenly, the sound of a car was heard and the pit bull perked up, slightly loosening his grip on Leonard. Leonard took a deep breath in and saw the gleam of lights on the ground around him. The pit bull acted on impulse and ran. Leonard sat up, eyes still wide with the shock of everything he'd just been through. He turned slowly around just as the penguins' pink car turned into the entrance of the junkyard.

"There he is! See? Told ya we'd find him," Skipper said from the passenger seat.

"Are you okay, Leonard?" Private asked leaping out of the back seat and running to him.

"Just peachy…" Leonard said simply, still processing what just happened. Private took his arm and helped him up.

"Are you okay, then? You look a little shaken up. Did something happen?" Private asked.

"No! I mean…It's, uh…just a little creepy in here at night, you know?" Leonard answered nervously.

"Well, everything's alright now. Let's get you home," Private said helping him into the back seat. When they sat down, Private eyed his foot curiously. "What's that on your foot, then?"

Leonard looked at the sole of his left foot; the bone he'd stepped on left a trail of blood, which was dry now.

"Uh, it's nothing. I probably just stepped on a rusty pole or something," Leonard answered once again in a nervous haste.

"Oh, alright then. It'll wash right off. I really am sorry this happened," Private said.

"Yeah…S-Sure. Let's just get back to the zoo, okay?"

Private smiled sympathetically.

"Sure. Step on it, Rico!"

Rico hit the gas and turned the car around and headed back to the zoo. Leonard's mind remained in the junkyard.


	2. Vivid Catastrophe

"Are you sure you're okay? You really don't seem to be yourself," Private urged.

It didn't take long for the penguins to make it back to the zoo. They had just stopped by the koala habitat to drop Leonard off.

"I'm fine. Just please, leave me alone. I just want to be alone, okay?" Leonard insisted.

Private looked at him with doubt in his eyes. He could sense that something was wrong, and he only wished Leonard would tell them. Rico stepped on the gas and they went on to their habitat.

"I still think something is wrong with him…" Private told the others.

"Well, if it's really worth worrying about, he'd of told us," Skipper replied.

"I dunno, Skipper. I just have this feeling—"

"He's fine! You'd be mad at us too if we slingshotted us into a deserted junkyard at night," Skipper insisted. Private was about to once again protest, but decided to keep his beak shut for the moment.

Meanwhile, Leonard went back into his tree and laid back on a branch. For a moment, he stared at the clear black sky. The moon shown nearly centered in the black abyss. He kept seeing those bloodstained teeth in front of his face. He kept smelling that foul smell of flesh on warm breath. He kept hearing the horrid sounds of that innocent pup as he was torn to pieces and used as a main course. He cringed at the memory. The bell tower at the zoo gates struck midnight and Leonard practically jumped out of his fur and nearly fell off of his branch, but managed to cling to the rigid bark of the tree before he lost his balance. He pushed himself back against the tree's trunk and took deep breath to try to calm his pounding heart. He gently sat down and pulled his knees to his chest, cautiously looking around the sleeping zoo. There was not a sound being made except for the wind blowing through his tree and the grass below. He kept expecting to see that pit bull walking into the zoo…Into his habitat…Seeking his spilled blood…He shuddered at the thought. Suddenly, the image of watching his own limbs being torn off flashed through his mind and he shook his head violently, trying to push it away. He started to find it hard to breathe. He slowly started climbing down his tree, his arms shaking and his knees buckling with every step.

Once he reached the ground, he tried to stretch to still himself. It only worked slightly. Instead, he tried to clear his head; he approached a small flower and sat down next to it. He sighed and felt its silky white petals, then plucked it from the ground. He spun it through his fingers a couple of times, then lifted it to his nose and breathed in its sweet fragrance. He smiled slightly. He was almost calm when a light thud was heard behind him and he jumped, the flower falling from his grasp as he turned toward the sound. It was a small bunny.

Leonard let out a sigh of relief. He almost laughed at himself. He was more paranoid than words could describe. He approached the small creature and gently patted his head.

"Hey, there, little guy. You're not here to eat my face off, are you?" The bunny showed content at Leonard's touch. "You're a long way from home aren't you? How'd you get here?" The bunny said nothing, it just looked up at him with the most adorable eyes, then stepped forward a couple of inches and sniffed Leonard's paw. After doing so, it turned and hopped away. "Aw, where 're goin' little fella?" The bunny just kept hopping on its way and left Leonard's habitat. Leonard sighed and shrugged as he walked back over to his tree. He sat down and leaned against it and folded his paws over his abdomen. He once again looked up at the starless sky and remained there for the rest of the night.

* * *

Leonard heard something outside of his habitat. Even though something was telling him not to, he climbed down from his tree and slowly walked toward his habitat's boundaries. Each step made his heart pound harder and his adrenaline coursed through his body and made his head pound. He quietly climbed up the wall and hesitated at the top. He took a deep breath and held it as his shaking body pulled up over the railing. He barely peeked over the side…And saw nothing. Just the ground of the zoo. He let out the breath he was holding in relief…Until he heard another sound farther beyond his habitat. Would he dare? It was as if some force pulled him over the wall and forward, a force unbeknownst to Leonard himself, but it was strong, and it went against everything a clear mind would have told him.

He continued forward until he was at the corner of another habitat. He once again held his breath and slowly peeked around the corner. For the second time, he saw nothing, and let out his breath. Then suddenly a warm air was felt on his back, and the putrid scent of animal flesh filled his nose. His eyes widened in fear and he turned slowly around to see those horrid bloodstained teeth out of the corner of his eye. Leonard was scared into a statue until that horribly familiar voice said, _"Boo." _

Leonard took off running with a scream.

"Somebody help me!"

The dog caught up with him in seconds and pinned him down again. Leonard could now only manage a raspy whisper, partly from fear and partly from the dogs' strong hold from his pin.

"Mercy…" The dog laughed at his fear and bit into him. Now, Leonard saw a distant light, and behind the growling and tearing of his own flesh, he could hear Private's voice calling his name over and over and over…

Leonard woke with a scream. He was hyperventilating and he was clenching tightly to the Earth beneath him. Private was next to him shaking his shoulder.

"Leonard! Leonard! It's okay! You were only dreaming!" Leonard looked down at his abdomen and rubbed it with his paws as if to make sure that his fur and flesh was still there. When he assured himself that he was indeed in one piece, he leaned back against his tree and tried to slow his breathing. "Are you okay, Leonard? You must've had one heck of a nightmare!" Private exclaimed.

It was the break of dawn now, Leonard hadn't even realized that he'd dozed off a few hours ago. "I'm fine, Private…Wait a minute, what are you doing here, anyway?" Leonard asked in realization that Private had invaded his home.

"Well, I came to apologize again for yesterday. I wanted to catch you before you went to sleep for the day, but when I got here, you were kicking and screaming in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

Leonard was unsure of how to respond. He couldn't tell him what he saw. He just couldn't! He just spit something out on impulse. "Um…I was dreaming that…Zombies took over…And, uh…they were biting everyone. Yeah…That's what I was dreaming about. Now, can you please leave so I can go to bed?" He started climbing up his tree.

Private was in mixed emotions. He was concerned about what was going through Leonard's mind. He was overcome with guilt with what they'd put him through last night. He was also flooded with doubt; he just found it hard to believe that nothing happened last night in that junkyard. He watched Leonard ascend the tree. "Okay…I really am sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, apology accepted," Leonard muttered planting himself on his branch.

Private turned to leave, hanging his head. "Alright. Bye, Leonard. Sleep well."

Leonard sighed. "Thanks."

Private was about to say something else, but decided against it and let him be. Leonard turned his head and watched him go. He felt a little guilty about the way he spoke to him, but he just couldn't help it. If he started up a conversation with someone, he might accidentally spill the beans. He couldn't risk his or anyone else's safety like that. He groaned.

What was he going to do? What if that dog came for him at the zoo? He might go after all of his friends while he's at it! Then a thought occurred to him; the dog had no idea where he was. Right? Then he remembered his mistake. When he got in the penguins' car he told them that he wanted to _get back to the zoo. _He groaned even louder at what he labeled as his stupidity. Then again, the dog may not have heard him say that. And even if he did, it doesn't necessarily mean that he knows which zoo he was talking about. On the other hand, this was the zoo closest to the junkyard. Leonard didn't know what to think. He feared for the lives of himself and the other zoo animals. He could barely sleep for the rest of the day.

* * *

Private poked and prodded at his fish. He didn't have any appetite. He couldn't get his mind off of Leonard. What was bothering him so much? He couldn't help but think that what Leonard had told him about his supposed 'dream' was a lie. He'd been acting strange ever since they'd gotten him from the junkyard last night. Something deep inside him told him that it wasn't because he was mad at them for what they'd done.

"Private, are you okay? You haven't touched your lunch. You know we have training at four," Skipper asked, interrupting Private's thoughts.

"Oh, sorry Skipper. I'm just not very hungry," Private replied gloomily.

"Not hungry? You've been anticipating our shipment of genuine Alaskan sardines for days. You know this is a rare opportunity. What's wrong?" Skipper asked, suddenly concerned.

Private sighed. "It's just that…Leonard…He—"

"Oh, Private! You know Leonard. If anything were really wrong, he'd have to tell someone about it," Skipper insisted.

"I'm just not so sure, Skipper. Ever since last night, he just hasn't been himself."

Skipper rolled his eyes and was about to say something else, but Private cut him off, standing straighter.

"No, Skipper! This time, you're going to listen to me. You've always taught me to listen to my gut. Well, my guts' telling me that something happened to Leonard in that junkyard last night, and I want to find out what," Private finished confidently, but his shoulders fell when he saw the others' shocked faces. He looked down slightly. "I'm sorry, Skipper. I'll do it myself." He raised his flipper to slap himself, but Skipper grabbed it in mid-air.

"Actually, Private, there's nothing to be sorry about. In fact, I'm proud. I like your spunk. Tonight, we'll give Leonard a visit. How 'bout it?" he said with a smile.

Private perked up. "Really?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you've got me convinced. And who would I be if I punished you for listening to that gut?" Skipper replied patting his shoulder.

Private hugged his leader. "Thanks, Skipper!"

"No problem, Private. We leave at 2000 hours," Skipper ordered.

Suddenly, a scream was heard from outside.


	3. Blood and Water

**Author's Note:** I was planning on publishing a chapter every four days, but I'm unsure when and if I'll be on tomorrow. So, I decided to post this today. However, the rest of the chapters will remain on schedule.

* * *

"What the deuce?!" Skipper exclaimed as he and team rushed out of the hatch. They looked around, unsure of where the scream had come from, then they heard a light sobbing coming from the otter habitat. "Move out, boys!" Skipper ordered.

Upon entering Marlene's, they saw her in the entrance to her habitat leaning against the wall. Her paws were cupped over her mouth, tears were slowly running down her cheeks, and she seemed to be paralyzed with fear.

"What happened, Marlene?" Private said as the team approached her. Marlene remained silent, unable to speak.

"Marlene?" Skipper stepped up to her with concern. "Marlene, what's wrong?"

Marlene still did not speak; she cringed slightly and removed one paw from over her mouth and pointed toward her pond slowly with a shaking finger. The team turned toward it, not knowing what to expect. They cautiously moved forward to the pond, and when they were close enough, they saw what Marlene was so terrified of. It made all of them sick to their stomachs as they stared in horror and confusion. Private found himself unable to look any longer and he turned away and tried his best not to vomit.

"Kowalski…Analysis…" Skipper ordered slowly, finding it hard to wrap his head around what he was witnessing.

For a second, Kowalski remained staring in horror, then he snapped out of it in realization that Skipper had said something. "Oh…What was that, Skipper?" he asked, though unable to turn away.

"Analysis," Skipper repeated.

Kowalski slowly stepped forward and took a closer look at the bloody skull floating in Marlene's pond. "It appears to be from a small canine. Female. But…Who would do something so sick!?" he asked no one in particular. The blood from the skull slowly clouded outward from it, making it appear that there was more blood than there really was.

Skipper turned back to Marlene, who was still frozen in the position they'd left her in; her shaking finger pointing toward her pond while the other paw covered her mouth, and tears trailing down her cheeks. Skipper approached her and gently took both of her arms and pulled them down in front of her and looked into her tear-filled eyes.

"Marlene, you need to tell us what happened," he said gently. Marlene slowly crossed her arms over herself, feeling unsafe. She looked back into Skipper's calming eyes, but still could not find the words. Skipper took her by her shoulders. "Marlene, I know you're afraid, but there's no way we're going to be able to solve this unless you give us something to work with. We're going to protect you, Marlene. We're not going to let anything happen to you. Please, tell us what you saw."

Marlene took a deep, staggered breath and pushed herself into speaking—though her voice was shaky and breathy—and she choked on her words. "It happened…So fast…I went back in…For my ball…And when I came back out…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. She covered her face with her paws and Skipper pulled her in to comfort her. Marlene silently wept into his chest. Skipper turned his head toward Kowalski.

"Kowalski, run a trace on the entire habitat. Leave no stone unturned. I want every detail. If there's a broken blade of grass, I want to know about it," Skipper ordered. Kowalski nodded.

"Rico, help me out, will you?" Kowalski asked. Rico nodded. Private finally pulled himself together and waddled over.

"Is there anything I can do?" the young cadet asked.

"Why don't you ask the other zoo animals if they saw anything suspicious?" Skipper suggested.

Private nodded. "Aye, sir." He was about to turn and leave when Skipper's voice stopped him.

"Oh, and uh, try not to tell anyone exactly what happened, alright? Just tell them there was an incident at Marlene's," Skipper ordered. Private saluted his leader and left. Skipper stroked Marlene's back, trying to calm her down. "It's okay, Marlene. So, you're sure that you didn't see anyone or anything suspicious?"

Marlene simply shook her head and tightened her grip on Skipper's feathers. It hurt, but he didn't care. Someone had just scared the daylights out of one of his closest friends, and he wasn't resting until he found out who and why.

Meanwhile, Private made his first stop at the flamingo habitat since it neighbored Marlene's. "Hello, Pinky. I hope I'm not intruding," Private said once he was atop Pinky's habitats' wall.

"No, you're not intrudin' baby. What's goin' on?" Pinky replied.

Private hopped down into his habitat. "I was just wondering; did you see anyone leaving Marlene's habitat just a few minutes ago?"

"No, I was busy groomin' my feathers. I thought I heard someone scream but I didn't know where it came from. What happened, baby?" Pinky replied.

"Oh, it was just a little incident. There's nothing to worry about, really. Thanks, Pinky. Let us know if you see anyone lurking about," Private told him.

"Alright, baby. Sure thing," Pinky replied.

Private moved on to the next neighboring habitat…The lemurs.

"What do you want, penguin? I am being in the middle of something very important here," King Julien asked impatiently. He was 'busy' getting ready to have a 'BO$$ lemur party'.

"I was just wondering if any of you noticed anyone leaving the zoo confines just a few minutes ago. Particularly from Marlene's habitat?" Private asked.

"No, I was much too busy helping Maurice and Mort set up the party favors. And of course by _helping _I mean supervising," Julien replied relaxing back in his throne and taking a sip of his smoothie. "Anything else?" he asked wiping off a smoothie-stash.

"No…Just let us know if you see anything suspicious."

"Alright. I hope Marlene's okay," Maurice chimed in.

"Oh…She is…It was just a little incident," Private replied, not wanting to worry anyone. He turned and left them.

On his way to the chimps, he passed by Leonard's habitat. He was going to overlook his, considering Leonard was supposed to be asleep right now. But at the last moment, Leonard peeked up over the wall.

"Psst! Private! Over here!" he whispered.

Private looked over in surprise, then waddled over. "Leonard? What are you doing up?"

In reality, Leonard hadn't really been able to sleep. Every time he came close he would see that pit bull tearing him to shreds.

"I heard the scream. Is Marlene okay?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

"Yes, she's fine. Just a little incident," Private answered. "Did you see anyone leaving her habitat and/or the zoo by any chance?"

"No…Why? What happened?"

"Nothing…Just don't worry about it. It was just a little incident. I really need to go. Sorry you were awaken," Private said, then continued on to the chimp habitat.

Leonard refused to believe that whatever happened was a 'little incident'. He climbed over his wall and crept to the otter habitat. He went around back and climbed up. Unfortunately, from his position, he was unable to see Skipper and Marlene standing in the entrance. So, when he looked over the wall, his heart nearly stopped from what he saw.

Kowalski was wearing sterile gloves and was pulling a bloody skull from Marlene's pond. He was paralyzed with fear and became more nauseous than when the pup was mauled. A moment later, he heard Skipper's voice say, "Have you found any clues, Kowalski?"

"No, not yet. I'm still looking, though," Kowalski answered.

"Well, I hope we find something that will help us figure out who did this so we can stop him, and Marlene can rest in peace," Skipper replied.

Leonard nearly lost his balance. _Marlene is…is…dead?!_ he thought. He couldn't help but blame himself. If he hadn't said anything about wanting to get back to the zoo last night, Marlene might still be alive. He climbed back down from the wall shaking like a leaf, then went back to his habitat as quickly as his legs would carry him.

Why him? What had he ever done to deserve to be put through this kind of torture? Once he got back to his habitat he climbed up his tree and laid down on his side, holding his stomach. He felt as though he'd eaten a bunch of rocks and they were weighing down his stomach. He wasn't sure if he could hold this in for much longer.

* * *

Later on that evening, around 7:30, the penguins had cleaned out Marlene's pool and swept Marlene's habitat four times…And found nothing. There wasn't a shred of evidence that anyone had been there. Marlene had finally cried herself to sleep and Skipper had carried her into her habitat and laid her in her bed. Skipper came out with a sigh.

"Did you find anything?"

Kowalski and Rico shook their heads sadly. Private had even come back a few hours ago and helped them with the last couple of searches. Even with Private's watchful eye, they still didn't find anything.

"Well, then let's search it again," Skipper ordered going back to the pond, but Kowalski took him by the shoulder.

"Skipper, I'm sorry, but there's just no evidence here. The culprit is gone without a trace. I think it's time we cut our losses," Kowalski reasoned.

"No, if we can't find something that will help us find out who did this, he's going to strike again. Then the cat's gonna be out the bag," Skipper insisted.

"Skipper, the best we can do for now is to put the entire zoo under careful surveillance," Kowalski argued.

"And you know, we still haven't spoken to Leonard. Maybe whatever has gotten him so uptight is the same thing that's done this," Private suggested.

"I like your thinkin', Private," Skipper piped up. "Move out. The hippie should be waking any minute now," he ordered taking notice of the sun, which was barely peeking over the horizon.

Leonard still lay awake on his branch. His eyes were heavy and his mind was foggy, but he just couldn't sleep. He couldn't get his mind off of Marlene or the pit bull. His stomach wouldn't settle no matter how hard he tried. He jumped at the sound of the penguins leaping onto the other end of his branch.

"Ah! Oh…What are you guys doin' here?" Leonard asked getting to his feet.

"We wanna know what happened in that junkyard last night. And we want to know every detail," Skipper ordered.

Leonard leaned back against the tree to keep his balance and held his aching stomach.

"Look, I already told you. Nothing happened. I landed somewhere in the middle, then I walked to the edge, then to the exit. End of story," Leonard insisted.

"Negatory. You've been fuzzy ever since we picked you up last night, and I don't mean on the outside, like usual. Now spill. You know there are more than one way to make someone talk," Skipper threatened, but Private elbowed him and gave him a stare before he stepped forward.

"Ignore him. Please, Leonard. Look, something happened at Marlene's place earlier. I can't tell you what, but I have a feeling that whatever did this to her did something to you, too. Can you please just tell us?" Private pleaded.

"Nothing happened, okay! I'm perfectly fine! So, just leave me alone and just go continue your crazy commando stuff elsewhere!" He was going to continue but a spurt of pain shot through his abdomen and he cringed.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Private asked.

"I'm fine…It's just a stomach ache. I haven't gotten much sleep," Leonard answered, his tone a little calmer.

"Why—?"

"You know, you just can't stop asking questions, can you?! I told you over and over again that I'm fine and you're being relentless! Why can't you just believe me and leave me alone! There's no sense in you asking all of these questions that add to my load of stress because you four just don't know how hard it is to live with seeing two innocent deaths in 24 hours!" Leonard blurted out, then his eyes widened in realization of what he just said. The penguins were surprised as well.

"_Two_ deaths? Who? Why didn't you tell us?" Private asked.

Leonard opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words.


	4. The Wrong Investigation

Leonard remained speechless. He knew that if he took up a conversation with someone he'd end up spilling it. He turned around and leaned against his tree, clenching to the bark. Suddenly, the night air seemed to thicken and bear down on him. Private waddled up a few steps until he was standing just behind him.

"Leonard…If you don't tell us what happened, there's nothing we can do to help. We can protect you, Leonard. Help us to help you," Private pleaded.

Leonard closed his eyes. "You don't understand what's at stake."

"But Leonard, if you don't tell us, the other zoo animals may be put at risk. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Private reasoned.

Leonard opened his eyes slightly and looked down. "No…" he muttered. He tried to talk himself out of it. _No…Telling them will only make that dog come after everyone…Then again, the dog already killed Marlene…And the penguins _may _be just crazy enough to be able to stop him…_

"Leonard?" Private gently grabbed his shoulder.

Leonard looked at his flipper out of the corner of his eye and a moment later he sighed. "It's just…Last night…I saw…" His voice trailed off as what he was saying caught in his throat.

"It's okay, Leonard, you can tell us," Private urged.

Leonard hesitated. He wasn't exactly sure of how to tell them, and he knew he had to tell them something. They certainly weren't going to leave him alone now that they knew he knew something about who killed Marlene, and that he'd witnessed another death that they didn't know about. He turned back around, finally admitting to himself that he had no choice. He looked around to make sure they were alone, then took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. He spoke as quiet as he would dare.

"Look…Last night in the junkyard…I heard something. In hopes that it was you, or someone that could help me get out of there, I followed the sound. But instead of help…I saw…" He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, unsure of how to explain it. "I saw a dog. Pit bull to be exact," he said finally. A mournful look crossed over his face, and his eyes were deep with seriousness. He said the rest of his confession slower, each word crushing his insides. "He mauled an innocent pup. Teared him to shreds and used him as a main course, without hesitation, and without remorse."

The penguins' faces fell in shock and Private covered his beak with his flippers.

"After I got over the shock, I tried to run away, but he caught up with me just before I was able to escape. That's when you came in and he retreated. Then I made the stupid mistake of telling you four that I wanted to 'get back to the zoo'. Now he knows where I am, and he's attacking my friends while he's at it. And now because of me, Marlene is dead," he said looking down and cringing inside.

Skipper was about to ask a question when what Leonard said sunk in. "Wait…What do you mean by 'Marlene is dead'? She was fine when we left her."

"But…I saw Kowalski pulling her…You know…Out of her pond, and you said you wanted her to 'rest in peace'," Leonard explained.

"Yeah, but it wasn't hers. And I only meant that I wanted her to rest without worrying about anything," Skipper explained. "When did you hear that anyway?"

"Oh, Private told me that something happened at Marlene's. I wanted to be sure she was okay. I'm glad I was mistaken. But I know that it was that pit bull. I don't know why he just doesn't come after me. It is me he wants," Leonard said with a shrug.

"Well, we're gonna be sure he doesn't hurt you or anyone else. Until he's caught, this whole zoo is gonna be under strong surveillance. Kowalski'll have the cameras from around the zoo connected to our security feed and under our control. If he comes back, he's gonna be in for a surprise. You let us know if you see anything suspicious," Skipper ordered.

Leonard nodded. "Just…Be careful. If he gets a hold of anyone…That's it. He's unlike any dog I've ever seen."

"Don't worry, Leonard, we'll be careful," Kowalski assured him, but Leonard wasn't convinced.

"It's gonna take more than being careful," Leonard insisted giving them a stern look.

Skipper laughed, as if he hadn't a fear in the world. "Ha! And what exactly does the little canine look like?"

Leonard remained silent for a couple of seconds, then stepped forward until he and Skipper were face to face.

"Picture you times four, with snarling blood-stained teeth that still have puppy flesh caught in between. With bulging leg muscles that seem to propel you faster than you can even _imagine_. And with blood-red eyes that burrow into your soul and seem to alone eat you alive from the inside out."

Skipper looked into his deep, serious brown eyes and gulped slightly. After a short moment, he looked toward his men, whose eyes were wide with fear. Especially the young Private, who whimpered slightly.

He snapped out of it and said, "Alright, boys. We have work to do. Roll out."

Leonard watched Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico jump down to the ground with a flip, and Private, who looked back at him silently for a moment before he followed behind. A few moments after they left, Leonard heard something from behind in his tree. He looked up, scanning the branches.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he called. But he saw no one. He heard another small rustle from below and looked down. Once again, he saw no one. He slowly climbed down and cautiously looked around. Paying close attention to the bushes scattered about his habitat. But he still did not see anyone. Was someone spying on him? He decided to shake the thought away and assume it was only the wind. How could anyone spy on him without being seen? There was just one thing that bothered him about accepting that theory.

There was no wind, not so much as a breeze.

* * *

On the way back to their habitat, Skipper stopped by Marlene's.

"Hey, you three go on ahead to HQ. I'm gonna check on Marlene for a minute. I'll catch up."

His team nodded and pressed on. Skipper leapt into Marlene's habitat and entered her cave. She was still sleeping soundly, though her blanket was on the floor. He assumed that she'd kicked it off. He picked it up and fixed it back over her. Suddenly, he heard something at the entrance to Marlene's. He turned on his heel on instinct, automatically fixing himself in a fighting position. When he saw nothing or no one, he looked back at Marlene to be sure he didn't wake her. She merely just turned over in her sleep. Skipper walked out of her cave and stopped outside in front of her pond. He heard a rustle in a nearby bush.

He once again turned on instinct, flipping over on his flippers and landing combatively in front of the bush, then karate-chopped a chunk of leaves out of the way. Once again he saw nothing but shrub. He relaxed slightly, looking around the habitat. He searched around for a few minutes, and when he didn't discover anything suspicious, he hopped up on the wall of the habitat and looked back one more time, still not seeing anything or anyone. Though he was still suspicious, he continued to HQ.

When he got there, Kowalski had already gained control of the zoo's security feed and was scanning the cameras. He approached his lieutenant.

"Hey, Kowalski. You go on to bed with Rico and Private. I'll take the first watch," Skipper ordered. Kowalski nodded and went to his bunk with a yawn. For some reason, Skipper kept thinking about the blanket that he'd picked up off of Marlene's floor. There was something about it that bothered him, but he couldn't place what it was. Then it hit him. It was fairly warm in Marlene's habitat when he put her to bed. He didn't cover her up. If he didn't cover her up, she couldn't have kicked the covers to the floor. Then again, she may have woken up and covered herself…But Skipper's gut told him otherwise. There was someone in Marlene's habitat earlier. That's when his suspicions were confirmed. Skipper looked at the security feed and something caught his eye. He enlarged one of the windows and zoomed in slightly.

Someone had just left the zoo.

* * *

The next morning, Kowalski went into his lab to examine the only evidence they had from Marlene's: the female dogs' skull. Rico decided to take the next shift on watching the security feed. Skipper went to bed to catch a few hours of sleep. Private went to go check on Marlene again.

Once he reached her habitat, she wasn't outside next to her pool like she usually was. Understandable, considering what had happened yesterday. He entered her habitat and saw her lying awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling, completely silent.

"Marlene?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Oh…It's just you. Hey, Private," she replied softly, turning her focus back on the ceiling.

"I was just wondering if you were okay," Private inquired.

"I'm fine, Private. Just a little shaken up. So you never found any clues?" Marlene said.

"No, I'm afraid not. But we're still looking. Kowalski's got control over the zoo's security feed. Oh, and Skipper wanted me to ask you; did you hear anything suspicious yesterday while you were sleeping?" Private asked.

Marlene glanced over at him. "Well…No…At least I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…I did have this weird dream. At least I thought it was a dream. There was someone in my habitat. But all I remember is that whoever it was had gray fur." Marlene explained.

Private thought for a moment. "Uh…I think you may have just help us greatly, Marlene."

"But…It could've really just have been a dream," Marlene pointed out.

"True, but it's still something we can work with," Private replied. He turned and started for the exit. "Call us if you need anything."

"Okay," Marlene replied back, then continued staring at her ceiling in silence.

Back at HQ, Private reported to the others what Marlene told him.

"Gray fur? That's all she remembered?" Kowalski asked.

"Yes, but it was only a vague memory," Private pointed out. Skipper thought about the intruder he'd seen last night leaving the zoo. He could swear that whoever it was had gray fur.

"Well, there's also something I need to report. That skull I've been examining, it was definitely from a small female dog, no younger than three, but no older than five. And from what Leonard told us last night, it's very possible that this is the same pup he witnessed mauled by the pit bull," Kowalski explained.

"Did you find anything else?" Skipper asked.

Kowalski hesitated, then looked at Private. "Uh, no. But…I do need your help with something," he told his leader.

"Uh…Okay," Skipper replied, suddenly worried with Kowalski's sudden seriousness. He followed Kowalski into his lab and shut the door behind them.

Kowalski lowered his voice and leaned in closer to Skipper. "I…Discovered something…It's about the pups' DNA."

"Well, what is it?"

Kowalski took a deep breath and picked up a clipboard, handing it to Skipper he said, "I found a whole lot more than _just _the pups' DNA."

Skipper looked over the paper attached to the clipboard, eyes wide in shock. That was a _long _list.

"How many other victims?" he asked handing it back.

Kowalski's eyes went deep. "Fourteen other DNA results were found so far. And I'm only halfway through my analysis," he reported slowly and mournfully.

Skipper turned around, unable to look Kowalski in the eye. "Keep going. Report to me if you find anything else," Skipper ordered.

"Aye, sir," Kowalski replied, then turned and went back to his research. Skipper left his lab.

"What was all that about, then?" Private asked upon Skipper's return.

"Nothing, Private. Just keep an eye on those scans," Skipper ordered, then went back to his bunk to get some more sleep. Though with fourteen innocent souls whose blood was spilled in one of the most inhumane fashions possible, it wasn't really that easy to.

* * *

Later on, while Kowalski was taking his shift on the cameras, Rico and Skipper were out guarding the zoo and Private was taking his turn sleeping. It was a warm night; the clouds hung low in the sky, shielding the moon from wandering eyes. Skipper and Rico had decided to stay within seeing range of each other, so if anything happened, the other wouldn't be alone. Suddenly, something caught their eye. Skipper signaled for Rico to come to him and Rico obeyed.

Meanwhile, back in HQ, Private woke up, unable to sleep any longer.

"Kowalski?"

"Yeah, Private?" Kowalski answered.

Private waddled up to his side.

"Do you think we'll find who did this?" he asked him.

"I don't know, Private. I hope so. I just don't see much chance without any clues," Kowalski said adjusting the angles of the cameras.

"I just don't understand how he could've gotten in and out of Marlene's habitat so quickly without leaving a shred of evidence…" Private pondered.

"I don't know either, Private. We just need to think outside the box," Kowalski suggested.

Private thought for a moment, then his eyes widened in realization. "That's it, Kowalski! You're a genius!"

"Well…I know that, but…What did I say?" Kowalski asked, confused.

"We swept Marlene's habitat four times and didn't find anything. But guess what place we didn't search!" Kowalski cocked his head in thought, then shrugged. "We didn't search any of the areas outlying her habitat! We didn't search the drain either! We were so caught up in the crime scene that we were looking in all of the wrong places!"

"Private, you're right! We were executing the wrong investigation! I'll keep an eye on the cameras, you go tell the others."

Private waddled over to the walkie talkie and pressed the button on the side. "Skipper! Skipper, do you copy?"

A moment later Skipper's voice came back through. _"I copy, Private, but we're a little busy. Is it important?"_

"You bet your fish sauce! We've been searching in all of the wrong places! When we swept Marlene's place, we didn't check the outlying areas or in the sewage drain!"

_"Fish sauce?!" _Rico's excited voice resounded through. Skipper's came next.

_"Give me that, Rico! Good thinkin', Private! We'll head over there right now."_

"Okay!" Private put down the talkie feeling very proud of himself. He may have just helped them get that much closer to solving the crime.

Rico and Skipper headed toward Marlene's, but their attention was diverted at the sound of someone else's scream.


	5. If the Fur Fits

"What in the name of James Madison's lack of height!?" Skipper exclaimed. He radioed Kowalski. "Kowalski! Get a visual on the lemur habitat! Stat!"

_"Copy that!"_ Kowalski replied.

Skipper would know that scream anywhere. He and Rico dashed to the lemur habitat to see Julien, Maurice, and Mort backed up against the wall of the middle rock in their habitat in fear. The three of them were staring at the habitats' wall in horror; Julien's head was crownless, and he was cowering behind Maurice and Mort. Skipper and Rico followed their terrified gaze. Next to the habitat's walls, another skull lay on the ground. Blood was spattered on the wall behind it and on the grass around it. Not only that, Julien's crown sat atop the skull, as if it were wearing it.

"Rico, sterilize," Skipper ordered. Upon command, Rico regurgitated sterile gloves for him. "You go deal with the lemurs. I'll take a look around for clues," he ordered again putting on the gloves. Rico nodded.

Julien found his voice first, but it was shaky and you could hear his tears through it. "Um…Bossy penguin? What is that being in my kingly kingdom for?"

"I don't know, Ringtail. We're gonna investigate. Just go with Rico and tell him what happened," Skipper replied. Rico lead them away from the crime scene.

It was 5 o'clock now, so the light was steadily draining from the sky like water in a sink. Skipper began scanning the area for clues when Kowalski was heard on the walkie talkie again.

_"Skipper, is that what I think it is?"_

Skipper answered back. "Yes, Kowalski. We have another victim. So far I haven't found any…" His voice trailed off when something small caught his eye on the ground a few yards away. "Hold that thought, Kowalski." He set down his talkie and approached the object. Actually, it wasn't an object per say, it was actually a small tuft of fur. It was gray.

"Well, I took off my crown and gave it to Maurice to be polished," Julien explained to Rico, who was recording what they were saying.

"And after I polished it, I set it out to dry. When I went back for it, it wasn't where I'd left it. The three of us started looking for it, and a few minutes later we found it…There," Maurice finished.

Rico nodded and tapped at the buttons to the speak-and-spell, _"You did-n't see any-one leav-ing your hab-i-tat?" _it said for him.

The lemurs looked at each other, then shook their heads with a shrug. Rico nodded and hit the stop on the tape recorder, then went to go help Skipper with collecting evidence.

After a couple of hours of looking for clues and getting the lemurs' story, Skipper and Rico cleaned out the blood and took the skull and crown with them. Julien had insisted on them keeping it and ordered Maurice to bring him his spare crown. Now, Skipper and Rico were making their way back to HQ with the evidence.

Rico asked Skipper a question in his usual gibberish.

"I don't know, Rico. Hopefully, Kowalski might be able to find something out with the evidence. And I'm sure he could work some magic with this tuft of fur. This may be just what we needed to crack this case wide open," Skipper replied. All of the sudden, they spotted Leonard walking through the habitats. "Hey, Leonard! What are you doing out?"

Leonard turned to Skipper and Rico as they approached him. "I…I don't know. I went to sleep in my tree this morning, and I just woke up lying outside of the chimps' habitat," Leonard explained rubbing his head.

"The simian habitat? How exactly did you end up there?" Skipper asked.

"I don't know. I guess I went sleepwalking or something. What's in the bag?" he asked pointing to the black sack Skipper and Rico were holding.

"You didn't hear the scream in your sleep?" Skipper inquired.

"No…I guess I was pretty knocked out. I haven't slept like that since the junkyard," Leonard explained. He looked down slightly, "So who was it this time?"

"Ringtail and his 'subjects'," Skipper answered, "We really need to get this evidence to HQ."

"Oh, sorry. I'll just go on to my habitat," Leonard said turning and leaving them, "let me know if you find anything."

"Roger that," Skipper and Rico pressed on to HQ.

Once Leonard got back to his habitat, he sat down under his tree. How did he end up at the chimp habitat? Had he been sleepwalking? What had he done on his sleepwalk? Did anybody see him? All of these unanswered questions was eating him alive. Suddenly, his mind shifted to the lemurs. Why couldn't the pit bull just leave everyone else alone? It was him that he wanted. What was the point in punishing all of his friends? Why couldn't he just find satisfaction out of coming after him?

He got up and paced around his habitat, but stopped when he saw something on the ground. He approached it and looked very closely at it. It was a drop of blood. He wondered where it came from. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he took a leaf off of a bush and wiped it up, then threw the leaf back into the bush. He didn't know why he did it really, it just sort of happened. He started for his tree and climbed up, then sat down on his branch to think.

Meanwhile, Rico had taken the camera watch while Kowalski went to go examine the new evidence. Skipper was listening to the tape that Rico had recorded for him, then went into Kowalski's lab.

"So you're sure you didn't see anyone leave the zoo? And you didn't see anyone go into the lemur habitat to set up the scene?" Skipper asked.

"No, sorry Skipper. I think they tricked me. I saw a breach made in Sector Leo. I focused in on that feed and when I saw nothing, I returned to the multiview screen. The cameras that showed the lemur habitat were down, and they came back right before I got your call. I searched all around the zoo and couldn't find anyone lurking about. Well, except for Leonard. I suppose he went for a walk or something. I saw him leaving the chimp habitat," Kowalski explained.

"Well, he said that he didn't know how he ended up at the chimp habitat. He said that he just woke up there," Skipper told him.

"That's odd," Kowalski said with his brow lowering in thought.

"Yeah, I know. Did the evidence show anything yet?" Skipper asked.

"I'm still waiting for some results, but they're coming along. I should have some results in about an hour," Kowalski answered looking over some charts.

"Alright. Just inform me when you do," Skipper ordered. Kowalski continued and Skipper went back out into the mainroom. "Rico, did ya find anything?"

"Ah-ah!" Rico replied shaking his head.

Skipper sighed. Without much evidence to go by, this was getting difficult.

* * *

"Kowalski, have you finished?" Skipper asked entering his lab once again. Kowalski was leaning over some charts that were sitting on his desk.

"Skipper…I've ran these tests three times now and I've gotten the same result. But…I don't see how it could be…" Kowalski answered.

"What are you talking about, Kowalski?" Skipper asked stepping closer.

"It _can't _be right…" Kowalski repeated.

"Kowalski, _what _did you find out?" Skipper urged.

"It's about the DNA results on the fur," Kowalski replied.

"Who does it belong to?" Skipper asked. Kowalski looked at him from the side, then slid a photo over to him. Skipper looked at it with his eyes widening in shock, then narrowing in confusion.

Leonard had started pacing. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, to and fro. He was getting edgy. He couldn't stop thinking about how he got to the chimp habitat in his sleep. He turned again and the penguins stood before him in his habitat.

"Oh, hey guys. What brings you here? Did you find something?" Leonard asked.

"Well, Leonard, you could say that," Skipper answered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Leonard asked.

Skipper looked from Kowalski back to Leonard. "Leonard, we're…We're here to search your habitat."

"Search my habitat? Why?" Leonard asked, suddenly feeling defensive.

Skipper hesitated. "When we searched the lemur habitat today, I found a tuft of fur. And…" His voice trailed off. Kowalski finished for him.

"And…When I acquired the DNA results…They were a match for you."


	6. Frame of Evidence

Leonard was stricken speechless, but he quickly recovered.

"Me? As in…_Me_?" he asked putting his paw to his chest. Kowalski nodded. Leonard shook his head. "No, there must be some mistake."

Kowalski shook his own head.

"There's no mistake. I ran the test three times and your name showed up in each of them. Now, it's possible that your fur may have coincidentally blew into the lemur hab—"

"Coincidence my tail! I did _not_ put anything into that lemur habitat!" Leonard insisted a little louder than he intended.

Skipper stepped forward and nodded comprehendingly.

"Now, look, marsupial. I know what you're probably thinking. But look at it this way. If you truly have nothing to hide, you'll let us search your habitat—"

"Fine! Search it! Turn it inside out! You won't find anything!" Leonard said turning his back on them.

Skipper was going to say something else, but instead let out the air he was going to use to speak and turned to his men. After signaling his command, the team started sweeping Leonard's habitat. Leonard sat against his tree and folded his arms over his chest. So, now he knew what the dog was doing. He wasn't going after his friends in spite of him; he was trying to frame him. But why? Of course. If he came into the zoo for him, he'd have more witnesses to deal with. If they framed him, they'd probably kick him out of the zoo or something. Then, he would go after him. But how had he been planting all of this evidence in the zoo without being seen? All of these unanswered questions were making his head hurt.

After about an hour of sweeping the habitat, the penguins got ready to leave. They stopped next to Leonard.

"Well?" Leonard urged.

Skipper took a deep breath.

"Well, we didn't find anything worth suspicion. I guess we'll be lea—" he stopped in mid-sentence when something wet dripped on his head. He wiped it off with his flipper and looked at the solution in it. It was hard to figure out the color through his dark-colored flipper, but it was thick. He looked up into Leonard's tree.

"What is that?" Leonard asked stepping forward when suddenly a drop fell on his own head. The penguins' eyes widened as Leonard wiped it from his forehead and examined the red solution on his paw. Leonard looked at it in confusion, then up into his tree.

"I was about to ask the same question, marsupial. Move to the side," Skipper ordered. Leonard was about to protest, but the penguins were already making their way toward his tree. Leonard followed behind as they climbed up. The penguins stopped at a branch that had a tilting bucket sitting atop it camouflaged in the branches and leaves. Skipper pushed back the shrub. None of the penguins, nor Leonard, could believe what they saw. Skipper turned to him.

"Care to explain what this is doing here?" he asked gesturing to the bucket full of bloody water.

Leonard shook his head with wide eyes. "No…I know _nothing _about that…You have to believe me!" he protested.

Skipper stepped forward. "Look, marsupial. We want to believe you. But until we find evidence that proves your innocence, you're our prime suspect. I'm sorry, Leonard."

Rico and Kowalski carried the bucket down from the tree and Skipper followed. Private hesitated and looked at Leonard.

"Private…You believe me, right?" Leonard asked him softly.

Private opened his beak to speak, but couldn't find the words. His common sense told him that he was guilty, his gut told him that he was innocent. He turned slowly and finally he said, "I don't know, Leonard."

With that, he followed his leader. Leonard watched them leave.

* * *

"But, how could Leonard do such a thing? It just doesn't seem like him!" Private protested.

"I don't know, young Private. But we can't ignore the evidence. First, the fur we found at the lemur crime scene. Then we find Leonard wandering the zoo just a habitat away from Ringtail's? And _then _we find bloody water in his habitat?" Skipper answered with a look that suggested that he was deep in thought.

"How are we going to handle this, Skipper?" Kowalski said adjusting a couple of cameras to Leonard's habitat.

"Well, I think we should wait until we get harder evidence. We need to catch him in the act," Skipper suggested.

"Well, what about a trial? You know…Like they show in the movies," Private piped up.

"A _trial_? This isn't The Supreme Court, Private," Skipper answered.

"But this _is _America! What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?" Private pointed out.

"And who would be on Leonard's defense?" Skipper asked sternly.

Private swallowed. "I will."

"You?" Rico piped up.

"Yes. I think Leonard needs to be given a chance to share his side of the story," Private responded.

Skipper sighed.

"And you really want to bring the _whole _zoo into this?" he asked.

"I don't see any other choice we have," Private answered.

Skipper thought for a moment, then he sighed again.

"Alright. Democracy exercise: Who's in favor of giving Leonard a fair trial?" he asked his team. Private immediately raised his flipper, but Kowalski and Rico hesitated. Finally, Kowalski sighed to the camera feed.

"Fine. I'm in."

Skipper looked at Rico, waiting for an answer. Rico thought for a moment and Private pleaded to him with his eyes. Rico rolled his. "Me, too."

Skipper nodded. "Alright. You win, Private. I'll call a meeting for tomorrow evening," Skipper told him. Private nodded back.

* * *

The next evening, the animals gathered in the Zoovenir Shop for the makeshift trial. Rico was going to listen to the trial from HQ on a walkie while watching the zoo's camera feed. Private left to go get Leonard. Skipper and Kowalski told everyone how this was going to work.

"Alright, everybody, settle in," Skipper started. Everyone tuned in. "As you have all been informed, there have been two incidents in the past three days involving innocent unknown deaths discovered first in Marlene's habitat, then in Ringtail's. Evidence has been discovered against Leonard's innocence. We are going to ask several witnesses—including Leonard—various questions. We expect that you all will be honest in your testimony. Once we complete the testimony, we'll have a zoo vote. For Leonard's innocence, or against it. Any questions?"

Julien stepped forward. "Eh, how long is this going to take?"

"I don't know, Ringtail. It could be a matter of days, maybe longer. It depends on how much evidence we can gather."

Mason stepped forward next. "What will become of Leonard if he is found guilty?"

"I don't know, yet. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Skipper answered. "Any more questions?"

Silence.

"Alright. Now we just wait for Private—who will act as Leonard's defense attorney—to meet us here with the accused."

Private made his way to Leonard's habitat. Leonard had been asleep all day, so he was unaware of what the other animals had in store for him.

"Leonard?" Private called softly into his habitat.

"Down here, Private," Leonard's gloomy voice answered. Private looked down; Leonard was sitting against his habitats' walls beneath him. Private hopped down and turned to face him.

"Leonard, you need to come with me."

Leonard answered without ungluing his eyes from the ground in front of him. "Why? Where are we going?"

"The zoo has decided to give you a trial. They're going to vote for or against your innocence," Private explained.

"Trial? Oh, what's the point. They're going to vote against it," Leonard replied.

"I don't know, Leonard. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Come on; what do we have to lose?" Private reasoned.

Leonard thought for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. But I'm not getting my hopes up," he answered getting to his feet. Private smiled.

"I have confidence, Leonard. I'm sure you will, too, soon enough," he encouraged patting his shoulder.

"Yeah. Sure," he replied, though obviously full of doubt.

Once they'd gotten to the Zoovenir Shop, Private and Leonard stopped outside the entrance.

"Are you ready, Leonard?" Private asked.

Leonard took a deep breath, "As I'll ever be…I guess…" he answered looking at his feet. Private smiled sympathetically and pushed the door open.

The other animals, who had been talking amongst themselves, silenced upon the sight of Leonard standing in the doorway. They all just…Stared at him. Leonard gulped and leaned in a little closer to Private.

"I don't know if I can do this…" he whispered.

"You'll be fine. Just tell them the truth." He gave him a gentle push on the shoulder to urge him forward. Leonard slowly took a few steps forward and started making his way for his place at the defendant's chair. He could feel the eyes of the other zoo animals boring into him the entire time, making the walk seem to take years. His heart pounded harder with each step. Skipper stepped forward on the counter and cleared his throat.

"Leonard the koala is of murder in the first degree. Leonard, how do you plead?"

Leonard hesitated, then looked up and said weakly, "Not—" he cleared his throat slightly and raised his voice— "Not guilty."

Private smiled as Skipper nodded and said, "In that case, this court is now in session."


	7. The Plot Thickens

"We'll take it one step at a time, starting with Marlene's case. I'll call the first witness," Skipper said.

Private's heart pounded, partly due to nervousness and partly due to anticipation.

"Marlene, can you come to the stand, please?" Skipper asked.

Marlene hesitated, then climbed slowly to the top of the counter and sat down on the overturned bowl that would be used as the witness stand. Skipper took a deep breath and approached her.

"Marlene," he started, "can you please tell us in great detail what happened two days ago at your habitat?" he asked her.

Marlene took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. "I was swimming in my pond, then I went inside for my beach ball. I was only inside for maybe…" she thought for a moment, "two or three minutes. When I came back out…" Her voice trailed off, but she recovered, though no longer able to look Skipper in the eye as she said her next words. "There was a small skull floating in my pond. Surrounding it was deep, red blood. I screamed, and that's when you and the others came," she finished, doing her best to not cry from the horrid memory.

Skipper nodded. "And you didn't hear or see anything? Anything at all?"

Marlene shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"What about before you went in for your ball? You didn't see nor hear anything suspicious?"

Marlene thought for a moment, as if replaying the scene in her mind. "I don't think so," she finally answered.

"The next morning, you said that you think you saw someone in your habitat during the night. Can you describe him?"

"Well, I was sleeping when it happened. I really don't know if it was real or not."

"But you could have just been half asleep when it happened?"

"I suppose."

"So, what did he look like?"

"Well, I don't remember much. All I recall is that whoever it was had gray fur."

There was a quiet murmur among the other zoo animals as they took notice of Leonard's gray fur. Leonard looked from them to Private, who seemed deep in thought. Leonard wondered what he was thinking about.

Skipper turned to Private.

"Your witness."

Private took a deep breath and went up to Marlene.

"Marlene, did you actually _see_ Leonard anywhere near your habitat at the time of the incident?" he asked.

"No."

"Did you actually see him anywhere near your habitat shortly before or after the incident?"

"No."

"And during the time you saw a gray-furred figure in your habitat, did you actually make out Leonard?"

"Well, no."

"And have you ever known Leonard to bring harm to you or anyone else?"

"No."

"Has he ever threatened you or anyone else?"

"Not that I know of."

Private nodded and said, "No further questions," then returned to Leonard's side.

"You may step down now, Marlene," Skipper told her. Marlene got down from the counter and returned to the crowd of zoosters. Kowalski was called to the stand next.

Private took notice of Leonard's concentrated, worried eyes. He wished there was something he could do to calm his nerves. He watched as Skipper approached Kowalski.

"Kowalski, how long do you suppose the walk from Leonard's habitat is from Marlene's?" Skipper asked him.

"Oh, a few minutes, I suppose," Kowalski answered.

"Do you think that it's possible for Leonard to have planted the evidence and return to his habitat in the given frame of two to three minutes, as heard in Marlene's testimony?"

"Well, enough to place the evidence, yes. But it would probably take a few extra minutes to get back to his own habitat."

"At the time of the lemur incident, what did you see on the cameras?"

"There was a breach in another zone. I concentrated on that frequency for a few minutes, and when I saw nothing, I returned to the multifeeds. By that time, the camera feeds to and around the lemur habitat had been interrupted. I tried to fix it when I got your call, but by the time it cleared it was too late. I never saw anyone coming in or out of the zoo."

"I wanna ask you about the evidence found in Leonard's habitat. Can you tell everyone what it was?"

"We only found one thing that rose our suspicions," his voice trailed off for a moment, "there was a bucket high in his tree. In it was bloody water," he answered slowly. The murmur among the zoosters rose again and they stared at Leonard, making him more nervous than he was.

"What do you suppose this water had been used for?" Skipper asked loud and clear to be sure the chattering zoosters could hear him. They quieted.

"After I examined it, there was small patches of Leonard's fur in it. So, I assume he used this water to wash off his paws after he'd gotten blood on them."

"And where do you think this blood came from?"

"The DNA results were a match for the victims I found in the evidence found in Marlene's and Julien's habitat," Kowalski answered.

"How many victim's DNA was found?" Skipper asked.

Kowalski looked at Private, then at the other zoosters. He didn't want to tell anyone else how many other victims there were. But considering what was at stake, he closed his eyes and answered.

"Thirty-eight."

The zoosters gasped in shock. Thirty-eight victims? Private went deep in thought, trying to contain the shock of absorbing that information. Leonard looked at him, then at the counter beneath his feet. His grip tightened on his thighs as he tried to refrain from trembling. Partly from nervousness, partly from shock, and partly from just plain fear. For a few minutes the zoosters talked amongst themselves about what they'd heard in Kowalski's testimony, then Skipper spoke up again.

"No further questions."

"Kowalski," Private started as he moved toward him, "can you describe your process in investigating Marlene's habitat?"

"Well, Rico and I started by carefully sweeping the outlying areas of her pond and I took water samples. We went through this process several times before we finally cleaned out the pond."

"Can you describe the clues you found?"

"We didn't find any clues. There was no evidence whatsoever that anyone was there."

"And what do you make of that?"

"Well, I was befuddled. How could anyone get in and out of Marlene's habitat without leaving a single trace?" Kowalski asked no on in particular.

"And approaching her habitat, you didn't see anyone leaving?"

"No…I didn't," Kowalski answered.

"You also said that Leonard may have been able to plant the evidence, but it would take a few extra minutes to return to his habitat, yet you say he wasn't seen?" Private inquired.

"Well, yes. I hadn't thought of that," Kowalski replied.

"And shortly after, Leonard was seen in his habitat?"

"Yes, he was."

"Now, about this evidence that was found in Leonard's habitat. Couldn't it be possible that someone planted that evidence there?" Private asked.

"I suppose."

"And how did you come across this evidence?"

"When we were about to leave, a drop of water fell from the bucket onto Skipper's head. We climbed the tree and there it was."

"You didn't find it strange that not a single drop fell until you were about to leave?"

"Well, no. I didn't really think about it that way."

"Is there any way to know if Leonard actually used the water to cleanse his paws?"

"Yes, actually. You see, even after you wash blood from anything without the proper substance, residue from that blood remains behind for several days, sometimes weeks."

"How can we see this residue?"

"Only under a blacklight."

"Hypothetically speaking, if we didn't find any of this residue on Leonard's paws, what would that tell us?"

"It would tell us that Leonard most likely really is being framed. Without the residue, that would mean that blood had never actually met the surface of Leonard's fur."

"Do you think you could bring this blacklight in?"

"Can do," Kowalski replied.

"No further questions," Private said. He looked at Skipper. The expression on his face was very concentrated, very deep in thought. Though, the look in his eyes was hopeful. He knew that Skipper had been playing bad cop all night, but he understood why. If Leonard was somehow, someway actually guilty of this crime, Skipper had to be sure he wouldn't walk away. But he could also tell that even though Skipper was playing the enemy here, he still wanted Private to win this case. This made Private smile a bit as he returned to Leonard's side. Leonard had tried to not get his hopes up since this had started, but he couldn't help himself. This trial could actually turn in his favor. He hadn't touched any blood. The blacklight would prove his innocence. The only trace of blood he could think of was the trail of blood on his foot from the junkyard, but he could easily tell them what had happened with that and surely they'd believe him.

King Julien was called to the stand next.

"Ringtail, tell the others what happened yesterday at your habitat," Skipper said.

The use of the words 'two days ago' or 'yesterday' reminded Leonard that this had only started a few days ago. But that just couldn't be right. Surely this happened years ago. But he knew that wasn't true. This had started three days ago at the junkyard. He found it unbelievable that so much had happened in such a small time frame. Fortunately, he knew that it was coming to an end. The blacklight would prove his innocence. He just knew it.

"We had just finished having the party, and I gave my kingly crown to Maurice to be polished. After he did so, he set it out to be drying. About an hour later, I sent him to fetch it, and he came back telling me that it was gone. Of course, I was outraged and I yelled a little bit, but then we all started looking for it. We found it at the edge of our habitat sitting on a skulls' head!" Julien cried cradling his tail.

"Did you see anyone else around your habitat?"

"Eh, no. I didn't. I was too busy with the dancing to care about anything else happening around me," Julien answered with a nervous laugh.

"You didn't hear anything?"

"The music was too loud."

"Have you or the other lemurs and Leonard ever had any problems with each other? Any tiffs?"

"Not really. Last week he did get pretty upset when we wouldn't be turning down the music, though," Julien explained.

"No further questions," Skipper said.

Private thought for a moment. "I have no questions for this witness," he stated.

"You can step down, Ringtail," Skipper instructed. Julien returned to his subjects in the waiting crowd of zoosters. "Okay, I'll let you call the next witness," Skipper permitted.

Private scanned the crowd of zoosters, then made his decision.

"I'd like to call Mason to the stand, please."

Mason stepped up to the counter and sat down on the overturned bowl, shifting his weight uncomfortably. It was obvious that he was nervous and unsure about giving his testimony. He rubbed his palms on his sides and took a deep breath as Private approached him.

"Mason, yesterday, Leonard was seen near your habitat shortly after the incident. Did you take notice of his presence?" Private asked him.

"I noticed him as he was walking away. I don't know when he got to our habitat. I don't even think he came in."

"So, he didn't say anything to you?"

"No. He didn't make his presence known."

"Did he do anything else?"

"Not that I know of. I just saw him walk back toward his habitat. I didn't watch him but for a moment."

"Did you see him go near the lemur habitat?"

"No."

"Did you see him do anything suspicious?"

"No."

"No further questions."

Skipper thought for a moment, "I have no questions for you, simian. You may step down," Skipper permitted. Mason relaxed slightly and tried to not make it obvious that he was hurrying off of the counter to rejoin Phil in the crowd of zoosters. "Call another witness, Private."

"I'd like to call Leonard to the stand."

Leonard's grip was tight enough around his thighs already, and now his claws were digging so hard into himself that if he didn't loosen up in a few moments they'd break skin. His eyes had widened and his heart began to race, and the fur on his back slowly stood up.

"Leonard?"

The sound of Private's voice made him flinch, snapping him out of his paralysis. He looked up at him.

"It's your turn for testimony," Private told him gently.

Leonard remained silent, then slowly brought himself to his feet, his knees shaking slightly. He locked them to steady himself, then glanced out at the zoosters, who were watching him carefully. The sight of all of those eyes boring into him made him turn his head down to look at the counter that lie ahead of him. He stepped forward and sat down on the witness stand, taking deep, slow breaths to try to keep himself calm.

"Leonard, can you tell us where you were at the time of the first incident?"

"I was in my habitat…Trying to sleep," Leonard answered slowly, not daring to take his eyes off of the counter in front of him.

"Trying? You were having trouble sleeping?"

"Yes. I was."

"Why is that?"

"The night before when I was in the junkyard—" he hesitated— "I watched a pit bull maul an innocent pup. Then he came after me and threatened me. You four scared him off before he could do anything, though."

"So, a dog murdered an innocent pup? Did you see any other evidence of other victims in the junkyard?"

"Yes. There were bones. Some of them were fresh."

Private nodded and crossed his flippers. "Where were you at the time of the lemurs' incident?"

"I woke up near the chimp habitat shortly after it happened. I don't know how I got there. I went to bed in my habitat that morning."

"Have you seen anyone suspicious lurking about?"

Leonard opened his mouth to answer, but closed it a second later. He sat in silence for a moment, then spoke finally. "I haven't _seen_ anyone."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've…Heard things…In my habitat. Rustles in the leaves. But I never see anyone."

"Has anything out of the ordinary happened to you since the junkyard? To you specifically, I mean?"

"No." Leonard thought for a moment. "Well, there is this one thing, but it doesn't really matter to the case."

"What is it?"

"A little bunny came into my habitat a couple of nights ago. He just came and left," Leonard explained.

"What color was he?"

Leonard sort of hesitated, not really believing what he was about to say.

"Gray…" he answered quietly. Surely that little guy couldn't have caused any of this. Another murmur arose from the zoosters. The conversations were of mainly, how a bunny could tie into all of this. Most eventually pushed the thought away from their minds, rendering it ridiculous and irrelevant.

"That's very interesting. No further questions."

Skipper approached him, "Leonard, after the junkyard, you were…In shock."

"Yes, very much. Anyone would be."

"I agree with you. But you said you woke up near the chimp habitat without knowing how you ended up there. Couldn't it be possible that you started sleepwalking due to post-traumatic stress?"

"Well, uh…I guess that's a possibility," Leonard answered uncomfortably.

"Can you explain how that bucket of bloody water ended up in your tree?"

"I don't know _anything_ about that," Leonard insisted. He found himself able to bring himself to look him in the eye. He didn't know why, maybe it was something to do with the fact that Skipper seemed to be against him.

Skipper stared back into his eyes for a moment. "I have only one more question. In Kowalski's testimony, he stated that under a blacklight would any blood residue left behind show on your paws. Would you be willing to use this in your testimony?"

Leonard looked over to Private, who nodded encouragingly. He shifted his gaze back into Skipper's. "Yes."

"Very well. Kowalski, bring the blacklight," Skipper ordered. Kowalski obeyed. Skipper took a step closer to Leonard holding the blacklight; they were now only an inch apart. "Hold out your paws," Skipper told him. Leonard did so. Skipper glanced back over his shoulder. "Turn out the lights."

A moment later the room went dark. Leonard saw Skipper's black figure turn his head back toward him, and felt his breath as he spoke.

"Are you ready?" he asked him.

"Yes," Leonard answered back through the dark. Skipper switched on the blacklight.

The room fell completely silent, and the heat drained from Leonard's face.


	8. Caught In the Act

No.

Wrong.

This wasn't happening.

It was all a dream.

It was all a horrible nightmare that would soon be awaken from and everything would go back to normal.

The lights turned back on and Leonard remained staring at his paws with wide, disbelieving eyes. After a moment, he surveyed the faces of the other zoo animals. He was expecting shock, or anger, or maybe both. But instead he saw _frightened _expressions. All of them were _afraid _of him now? He thought about the amount of residue that showed up on his paws. How did that get there? It was _impossible_! How was that dog doing this? Once again the bunny hopped through his memory. He was small, so sneaking around the zoo wouldn't be difficult. He was gray, so making it seem like Marlene had seen him in her habitat wouldn't be difficult either. And he was fast. Getting in and out would be a cinch. But why? What had Leonard ever done to the little creature? Maybe the dog threatened him. It certainly would be a motive to do whatever he asked. But it also still wouldn't explain how that residue ended up on his paws.

He looked at Private. He was definitely stuck. His eyes had fallen into a dead seriousness that he couldn't quite define. He had started to tap his side nervously. Leonard turned back to Skipper, whose expression was uncertain, as if he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say.

"Is there anything you'd like to say, Leonard?" Skipper said finally, breaking the silence.

Leonard looked at the zoosters with pleading eyes. He was going to beg them to believe him, but then decided that it would be useless. He looked down.

"No," he answered closing his eyes in hopes of keeping himself from crying.

Skipper turned to the zoosters. "We'll continue this trial tomorrow evening. 1900 hours sharp," he ordered. Julien awkwardly raised his paw and Skipper rolled his eyes. "It means 7pm. This court is hereby adjourned."

With that, everyone began filing out of the Zoovenir Shop. Each and every one of them kept their eyes locked onto Leonard as they left. Leonard wanted to put his face in his paws to shield his eyes, which were fighting back tears, but he couldn't bring himself to considering they were covered wrist-to-fingertip in blood residue. Instead he clenched his fists at his sides and closed his eyes. Private came to his side and placed a flipper on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's get you back to your habitat."

He couldn't really tell anything from his tone, but judging from his expression, he, too, was starting to doubt Leonard's innocence. He couldn't blame him. If Leonard were anyone else, he wouldn't believe himself either.

What if he really was guilty? Skipper mentioned that he may have started sleepwalking. What if he really did? He questioned why or how he would do something like that in his sleep, but he assumed that it wasn't impossible. He decided that staying awake was probably his best option. Maybe he could swipe some of Alice's coffee. He got up and followed Private out of the Zoovenir Shop, dragging his feet through each step. His heart had dropped into his stomach and sat heavily there, causing it to ache.

Was he really such a monster? _Could_ he be a monster? Was it possible? He thought about how he woke up next to the chimp habitat yesterday, which indeed was the neighboring habitat of the lemurs. How on earth did he end up there unless by sleepwalking? On top of the stomach-ache, his head started to throb. All he wanted to do was curl up in his habitat and sleep. And sleep. And sleep. Just to escape the hell-hole that was gradually becoming his life unless someone found something that could help him. He was losing—if he had not already lost—the trust of all of his friends. They didn't look at him the same way anymore.

When they arrived at his habitat, Private assumed that Leonard would continue to his tree, but Leonard didn't want to walk any more than he had to. He stopped by his wall and planted himself on the ground as soon as he got there. Private sat down next to him. They sat in silence. Leonard's mind drifted into the way it was before any of this had happened; his life was so perfect. He'd wake up each evening to the luxury of his warm, cozy habitat, free to do whatever he wanted, which didn't include murderous thoughts or actions. It was wonderful. He'd almost lost himself in it before he realized he was in a daze.

Meanwhile, Private's mind wandered into the way he wanted it, into the way he thought it would be. The evidence and clues that he'd gathered would point toward Leonard's innocence, and the penguins would set out to hunt down the true culprit. He couldn't help but wonder what went wrong. Not trial-wise, but in Leonard's life. What had Leonard ever done to deserve such torture? He knew in his gut that it didn't add up. He _knew_ that Leonard was innocent. It was just the matter of proving it to the others, knowing that he couldn't testify with his gut instinct as evidence. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even realize that Leonard had said something to him.

"Private?"

"Oh, sorry. What was that, then?" Private answered.

"I was just saying…If you don't believe me anymore, I understand."

"Actually, Leonard, on the contrary. Despite any of the evidence, I still don't believe that you're guilty. I just can't," Private assured him.

"Really? Because I'm honestly debating my own innocence," Leonard admitted.

"Leonard, I believe you. Even if you don't believe in yourself. There has to be another explanation for this. There _has _to be something we're missing, something we're not seeing. I just don't know where to look for it."

"Well, I appreciate the effort. But I don't think the verdict is going to end up innocent."

"But there's still time. And as long as there is, I'm not giving up." Private got to his feet and turned to him. "Promise me you won't, too."

Leonard kept his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him and sighed. "Alright. But I still don't see the point."

"I don't either. But I'm not letting that stop me," Private replied with a slight smile. "I've got to get back to HQ. I'll see you tomorrow evening." Private then turned and left him.

Leonard looked at the clock across the zoo. It read 11:53. He'd been in the 'courtroom' for almost three hours. He once again felt that feeling of the need to sleep, but he tried his best to ignore it. He didn't sleep much during the day, so it was difficult to just shrug it off. He thought once again about Alice's coffee. It couldn't hurt, could it? He wasn't even sure if he'd even like it, but it was worth a shot. He didn't want to sleep. He was afraid that sleeping would just make things worse, whether it be another murder victim, having nightmares, or waking up several habitats away from where he'd laid his head for the day.

Leonard made up his mind. He got to his feet and slowly peeked over the wall of his habitat. Everyone had gone to sleep. After climbing out of his habitat, he went to Alice's office and turned on the lights before he climbed onto the counter and approached the coffee machine. How hard could it be to make coffee? Luckily, the coffee pot was still half full. He'd seen Alice make coffee before. First, he had to heat it up. He located the on button and pressed it. After several minutes, he gently touched the outside of the glass coffee pot to find that it had warmed to an appropriate temperature. He turned off the machine and took the pot from it, pouring it into a mug that he'd found. He remembered Alice pouring sugar and some sort of cream into it, so that's what he did. Two scoops of sugar, and a spritz of cream. After mixing it, he carefully took a small sip, not knowing what to expect for the taste.

He quickly realized that he liked it. It tasted good, and it made his insides feel warm. He finished his first cup and made more, and more, and more. Eventually he'd finished off the rest of the pot. It wasn't his intention, but there wasn't any taking it back now. He found himself satisfied to see that it had worked. He was much more awake now. He sat on the edge of the counter to let the coffee settle. Ten minutes had passed and he started to feel weird.

It was so sudden, and he couldn't explain why he started to feel this way. His head felt fuzzy, and he tried to get to his feet, but the room began to sway. Back and forth, back and forth. His vision became black around the edges and his muscles became heavy, yet relaxed. He fell to his side and tried to prop himself up by his arm, but it slipped and he rolled onto his back. He could hear his breathing; it had become heavy and in quick motions. He could hear his heart in his throat. He couldn't think. Only feel.

Finally everything went black.

* * *

"I'm sorry things ended up like this, Private," Skipper said, "But…I'm afraid I just don't think I want you hanging around Leonard by yourself anymore."

"What?" Private asked, astounded.

"It's just that…If Leonard _is _guilty, which is what the evidence has so far suggested, I don't want him to hurt you. Understand?"

"No! I _don't _understand! Leonard _is _innocent! And I'm going to prove it!" Private insisted. He turned and climbed into his bunk. He couldn't bring himself to believe that Leonard could be capable of such evil.

"Private, I—"

"Save it! I'm going to sleep." Private turned his back on them. Though he couldn't sleep for most of the night. Neither could anyone else.

* * *

The smell of grass filled his nose. He could feel the greenery beneath him. A smile crossed his face as he felt the earth under his paw, but it faded when he felt something thin and moist.

Leonard opened his eyes. Above him was the vast blue of sky. How did he get outside? He was afraid to look at his surroundings, but he pushed himself up anyway. In front of him was grass that ended a few feet away into a dirt plane. He was in Roy's habitat. He turned his head to his left, where he'd felt the object in his sleep. It was bone. He jumped and got to his feet, backing away. His breathing and his heart rate accelerated. His eyes were wide with fear and shock. What happened last night?

"Oh my God…"

Leonard turned around at the sound of Roy's voice. Roy looked him up and down. Leonard looked down at himself. He was covered head-to-toe in blood, as was the ground and pile of bones behind him.

"Roy…I don't…I didn't…I…" Leonard didn't know what to say.

This time he was caught red-handed.


	9. Red-Pawed

"Roy…This isn't what it—"

"What do you think you're doing?! You're sick!" Roy said moving back.

"No! Roy! I-I didn't do this! You have to believe me!" Leonard protested.

"How can I believe you when your standing before me covered in blood?!" Roy shot back.

"Roy, if I were you, I wouldn't believe me either, but I did _not _do this—"

Leonard stopped abruptly when he saw Alice coming into Roy's habitat.

"What in the world?!" she exclaimed at the sight of Leonard's bloodstained body and the small pile of bloodstained bones behind him. Leonard didn't know where to go or what to do. There was certainly no way he could convince Alice that he was innocent, her being human and him being a koala and all. He didn't think, he just acted. He started running. He couldn't let Alice catch him. Who knows what she'd do.

"Hey!" she called as she started after him.

Leonard—heart racing and feet pounding into the cement beneath him—flew around the corners of the habitats. He caught quick glimpses of the other zoo animals in their habitats. Even though he only saw them for a split second, he could tell that they were shocked at the sight that they were witnessing. It was enough to make Leonard self-conscious of the blood covering his body. But that didn't stop him from running. He started to hear the sound of Alice's footsteps growing behind him and he started to fear that she would catch him, but Alice gave first. She stopped running and doubled over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Leonard kept running. When he reached the gates, he stopped and turned around.

From as far as he could see, the other zoo animals were looking at him with disappointment…And betrayal. His heart wrenched between pounds, but if he stayed, who knows what Alice or even the zoo animals would do to him. He turned and left the zoo.

* * *

He probably ran about a quarter-mile from the zoo before he reached the pond. He sat down at the edge of the water and took heavy breaths as he took in his reflection. Despite the fact that he was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt, that wasn't what he noticed first. It was the tears that had formed in his eyes and had slowly began to roll down his cheeks. When had he started crying? That's when he choked and sniffed, as if realizing that he was crying made the tears come harder. After few minutes of bawling to the koala staring back at him in the water, he decided that crying wasn't going to get him anywhere. Though it was tempting to wipe his eyes with his paws, the thought of bringing blood that close to his face sickened him. There was already more on his face than he'd like.

He pulled himself to the waters' edge and scooped water up in his paws and splashed it into his face. He scrubbed at the stains, but quickly realized that it was difficult to wash the blood off due to the fact that it had dried to the point where his fur had clumped and stuck together. Leonard groaned. How much worse could this situation get?

As if on cue, a loud rumble of thunder sounded overhead. He looked up at the gloomy dark clouds. It hadn't started raining, but it was going to soon. He took a deep breath to refrain from screaming to release his frustration. What had he ever done to deserve this? Why was this happening? After taking another breath and holding it, he brought himself under the water. He rubbed his arms, face, and abdomen until finally the blood came loose and floated away from his person. After frequently surfacing to breathe, he finally cleansed the blood from his fur, at least as far as he could see.

Even though he emerged from the pond dripping wet and cold, he was just satisfied that he was clean. Now all that mattered was getting somewhere warm, dry, and more importantly, safe.

Unfortunately, finding somewhere dry in the park would be difficult, and would take too long to carry out. It would start raining too soon. His best chance was to find salvation somewhere in the city. That's when he was reminded of the reality of why he was there. Leonard thought he'd been smart, but due to acting in a panic, he hadn't realized that he'd just given the dog what he wanted: an easy target. But he couldn't go back to the zoo, not with Alice and a herd of angry zoosters there waiting for him. A rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning made him jump and he quickened his pace. Surely, finding somewhere warm and dry wouldn't be too hard.

It was just the matter of remaining invisible.

* * *

Rain pounded on the roof of the Zoovenir Shop. The zoo animals had gathered there after Alice had locked up and left. Nobody could stop talking about what had occurred an hour ago. All but Roy, who remained silent in the corner of the Shop. He was overwhelmed that Leonard could be so sinister.

"Alright. Settle down, everyone," Skipper ordered from atop the counter. Gradually, silence replaced the murmur of the animals' voices. "I know that this has come as a shock to you, as I'm sure it is to all of us, including myself. We all knew Leonard as someone who would normally stay out of others' business. Even when he did cross paths with us, he was always kind. But we all know what we saw this morning. I'm afraid that without a doubt, Leonard is guilty—"

"No he's not!"

A gasp erupted from the animals as Private stepped forward onto the counter. Skipper faced him.

"Private, you're telling me, that even after we _all _saw Leonard at the scene of the crime, you _still _believe that Leonard's innocent?" he asked, just as dumbfounded as everyone else.

"Yes I do," Private stated matter-of-factually.

"Private, we _saw_ him doing it," Skipper argued.

"No, you _saw_ him at the scene of the crime. No one actually saw him _commit_ it," Private pointed out. King Julien's argument came next.

"Then how are you to be explaining the blood regiment that showed up on his paws?"

"Um…The blood _residue_ could have been a result of a frame job," Private suggested.

"But who would have the motive to frame him?" Kowalski piped up.

"Obviously, the dog that mauled the pup."

"And how would that dog pull any of this off without being caught?" Skipper asked, his voice rising.

"I dunno, maybe he got some help," Private answered matching his volume.

"Private, I know you don't want to believe Leonard's guilty, but you just can't let your heart get in the way of the evidence!"

"I'm not! Okay, you want to know the truth?! I don't _want_ to believe that he's innocent! Is that what you want to hear?! I _want_ to believe that he's guilty! But I _can't_! I just can't _believe_ that he is! And there's nothing you can say or do that's going to change that!" Private was now yelling and anger, and had stepped forward so he and Skipper were now face to face. Skipper met his gaze.

"Now, you listen to me, soldier, I am your commanding officer. I will _not_ be spoken to in that level of disrespect," he said sternly.

Private remained silent for a couple of seconds, his eyes narrowed into slits. "I will _not _apologize for stating my mind." Though he said it plainly, his heart began to pound with nervousness. He'd _never _spoken to him this way before.

Skipper folded his flippers over his chest. "Keep it up and I might feel obliged to probate you for insubordination."

Kowalski and Rico exchanged a glance. Skipper and Private had had their tiffs, but they'd never been this neck-and-neck before.

Private mirrored him. "Then how about you share with us _your _theory." For someone as tender-hearted as Private, he sure could be intimidating if he tried—minus the accent.

Skipper took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. My theory is that after seeing this dog's actions, Leonard suffered from post-traumatic stress or possibly a split personality. His mind's way of coping with the situation was taking it out on other innocent bystanders. Therefore, when he snapped out of it, he had no memory of his actions. Your turn."

"Fair enough. My theory is that after Leonard witnessed the dog murder the pup, the dog had to be sure that his mouth was kept shut. What better way than to frame him? He'd lose the trust of his friends and probably end up on the streets. At which time, Leonard would become easy prey. He could finish him off and no one would ever know what happened to him."

"And how has the dog gotten around without being caught?" Skipper argued shifting his flippers to his hips.

Private unintentionally mirrored him again. "Leonard mentioned a mysterious gray bunny that had entered his habitat. Perhaps he's in on it. The dog probably threatened him or something."

Skipper laughed tauntingly. "A bunny? A _bunny_?! Oh, wonderful theory, Private. We're under attack by an adorable little ball of _fur_!" Skipper said in an overly sarcastic tone. "You do realize how _ridiculous _that sounds?!"

"Don't you put words in my beak, Skipper! You know bloody well that it's a likely possibility!" Private insisted jabbing his flipper in Skipper's direction.

"Oh, for the love of Lincoln's itchy beard! I knew you were naïve, Private, but not full-out incompetent!" Skipper shouted pointing back at him.

"Incompetent?! _Incompetent_?! You're one to talk about _incompetence_! You don't know _everything_! Why can't you just once consider the possibility that you might be wrong?!"

"Because I'm relying on facts instead of fantasy!"

"_Fantasy_?! So now you're just calling me a liar, are you?!"

"Now who's putting words into _whose_ beak?! I'm just saying that we can't consider a theory that's based on your gut when everyone's _life_ is on the line!"

"If everyone's life is on the line, then why are we wasting our time arguing instead of going out to look for him?!"

"You started this argument in the first place!"

"Well, whether I started it or not, I'm _ending _it!" Private pushed past him and hopped to the floor, making his way for the door.

"Where are you going, soldier?! Get back here this instant!" Skipper ordered pointing to the spot next to his position like an angry parent.

Private replied without stopping or turning around. "No! I'm going to look for Leonard! That's hoping that the dog hasn't gotten to him first!"

"Private, it's cold, wet, and dangerous out there!"

"And you care?!" Private snapped whipping around on his heel to face him.

Skipper stopped himself. He wasn't expecting Private to say such a thing. "Private, I—"

"You _nothing_!" Private interrupted once again making his way to the door. "I'm going to look for him and there's nothing you or anybody can do to stop me!" Private left the Zoovenir Shop, slamming the door behind him, the sound echoed and hung in the air for a few seconds.

Everyone's attention shifted to Skipper, whose gaze was still fixed on the door. When he turned back to them, he examined each of their gazes. Most were staring with mouths gaping. Especially Kowalski and Rico, who seemed unable to pick their beaks up off of the counter.

"What?"

Skipper was answered with silence.

"What? Let him go! Let him learn his own lesson!"

Kowalski pulled himself together and stepped up next to him. "Skipper, if you want to go after him, no—"

"I don't need to chase after him! He obviously doesn't need us! He has his own opinion!" Skipper insisted.

"But, Skip—"

"No, Kowalski. He'll come crawling back with a sappy 'I was wrong' speech and beg for forgiveness and everything will go back to normal. For the most part. Meeting adjourned."

With that, everyone returned to their habitats without another word.

* * *

How did the penguins do this? When Skipper commands Stealth Mode, they jump right into it as if someone had thrown a switch. Then again, Leonard had never had training or practice with stealth. Plus, it was raining, so getting around wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

He'd been looking for somewhere dry for over an hour, but it just seemed impossible. Water fell on him from the sky and seemed last forever. Everywhere he looked was either occupied or as damp as the streets. He was about to give up when something caught his eye.

It was the gray bunny.

He sat just a few yards away before he slowly hopped to where Leonard was hiding behind a newspaper stand. Leonard—exhausted—was too tired to care. The bunny once again sniffed his paw, then sat on the sidewalk and looked at him with those large, adorable brown eyes.

"What are you here for?"

That was the last thing Leonard said before he felt something strike the back of his head and everything went black.


	10. Little Skipper

_Pitterpatterpitterpatterpitterpatter… _said the raindrops as they made contact with the roof of the HQ. That, and the _ticktock_ing of the clock, were the only sounds that filled the air. Kowalski and Rico sat at the table in silence, occasionally exchanging glances. Skipper leaned against a nearby wall staring out the window, even though there was nothing to see but the blueness of the water in their pond. He had made some coffee and was holding a mug-full, but he hadn't drunk any of it and had allowed it to get cold. None of them had said a single word since they'd returned.

Kowalski and Rico exchanged another glance. Though they did not speak, both knew they were wondering the same thing: _When was Skipper going to realize his mistake?_ Kowalski developed a lump in his throat and he coughed lightly to try to clear it, causing Skipper to flinch. His attention immediately went to the hatch in hopes that Private had returned. His eyes shifted to Kowalski when he spoke.

"Sorry, Skipper. That was just me."

The corners of Skipper's beak fell in disappointment and his gaze returned to the clear blue behind the glass.

"Skipper, if you want to go after him, no one would blame you," Kowalski finally said.

For a moment, Skipper remained silent, but it was hard to tell if it was because he was considering his answer or if he had even heard Kowalski's question in the first place. Finally, he answered.

"No. He'll be back soon. Probably any minute now."

"Skipper, now, you and I both know that that's not true—"

"He's fine. And he'll soon realize his mistake. He's obviously capable of taking care of himself and doesn't need us. End of discussion." Finally, he took a sip of his coffee and frowned at its temperature.

Kowalski took a deep, frustrated breath and approached Skipper and turned him around by his shoulder so he and Skipper were face to face.

"Skipper, this is where I draw the line. Who knows what Private is going through right now? He could…What if he's caught? Or-Or gets lost? He's just a _boy_! You're telling me you're just gonna sit back and do _nothing_?! That's not the Skipper I know." He finished folding his flippers. Skipper wanted to respond, but was unsure of how to. Kowalski, heart pounding, continued. "Skipper, are you _really_ gonna let your ego and stubborn nature get in the way of doing what's right? I know deep down, some part of you knows that Private needs us right now—that Private needs _you _right now."

There was another awkward silence. Longer this time.

"Fine. Then I guess Rico and I will go look for him ourselves," Kowalski said before he turned and started for the hatch. Rico followed. The sound of Skipper's voice stopped them.

"Wait," he spoke up softly. Kowalski and Rico turned to him as he gently set his cup on the table and waddled over to them. He came to a stop at their side. "With all due respect, I'd like to take point," he said meeting each of their gazes. Kowalski and Rico exchanged a glance, then turned back and saluted their leader with a smile.

Normally, Skipper would return the salute, but Kowalski had given him something to think about. If he hadn't been so stubborn…If he had just _listened_ to Private…If anything happened to him, he wouldn't know how to live with himself. He didn't feel as though he deserved a salute. He just nodded and pressed on.

* * *

So, this was what pure guilt felt like. As if your heart had just twisted into a ball, draining it of its blood, then falling into the pit of your stomach, weighing you down and causing your thoughts to focus on one thing: Making sure it's not too late before you can make things right again.

They'd been searching for almost an hour and couldn't find any trace of Private. The storm wasn't helping. Skipper recalled the last time Private snuck away to help the Amarillo Kid 'borrow' the famous Westchester Putter. He'd told Private to add some sneak-away drills to his training regimen because of the trail he'd left for them to follow. In the weeks that followed, Skipper was sure to do just that. It had certainly paid off, and Skipper cursed himself. He wasn't sure how to feel. Aside from the guilt, he was worried that something might happen to Private. He was proud that Private had such guts and bravery to defy his orders to help a friend, yet annoyed that he had succeeded in getting away without a trace. He was also furious…With himself. _He _let this happen. And if something did happen to him, it'd be his fault. And it was torture to think that if something did happen to him, he would never have gotten the chance to apologize to him. Private's theory may have been a little unbelievable—unlikely, even—but not impossible. And he wasn't incompetent. He was a wonderful soldier.

_No… _Skipper thought to himself. _He_ is _a wonderful soldier. _He couldn't think of him in past tense, not as long as the feeling in his gut told him he was okay. He looked up at the clouds. _Please, if there is a God, give me the chance to tell him that. Even though I don't deserve it._

"Skipper?"

Skipper flinched at the sound of Kowalski's voice.

"Are you alright?" he asked through worried eyes.

Skipper looked away as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just keep moving," he answered.

Kowalski hesitated, but said it anyway. "You're a lot alike, you know. You and Private, I mean."

"What are you talking about?" Skipper asked peering around a corner.

"He learned a lot from you. And during your argument, it was as if you were arguing with a mirror."

Skipper thought about their argument. When he did, he realized that Kowalski was more right than he realized. Whenever Skipper crossed his flippers, Private did the same. If he raised his voice, Private matched his volume and vice-versa. When Private pointed at him, Skipper pointed an angry flipper back at him. The thought made Skipper feel worse. Private was turning into a little Skipper. A better one than himself in his own opinion.

* * *

"Incompetent…How dare he call _me _incompetent…" Private muttered to himself as he waddled through New York in search of Leonard.

He'd searched the streets that were closest to the zoo and found nothing. He searched the park—nothing. Worry began to mix in with the anger that remained burning in his cheeks. As afraid as the thought made him, he only had one option.

He had to go to the junkyard.

If Leonard was there, there's a chance that he could save him. If he wasn't, then he'd have to keep searching the streets of New York and try to find him before someone else did.

It didn't seem to take as long to reach the junkyard last time. Maybe it was the fact that they took the car. Or the fact that they didn't know how dangerous that place was before. Private's little webbed feet seemed to have a mind of their own. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, his feet gradually began to drag through the water that pooled on the sidewalk.

He started to wonder what Skipper was doing right now.

_Probably laughing at me… _Private thought. _I'll show you, Skipper. I'll prove you wrong, _he promised himself. He was so deep in thought that he barely realized that he'd arrived at the junkyard.

He slowly approached the gates; his heart started beating faster…Beads of sweat gathered at his forehead, at the back of his neck, at the palms of his flippers…A lump formed in his throat. He slapped himself.

"Come on, you nancycat!" he muttered to himself. "You are not afraid. You are _not _afraid," he told himself. He took a deep breath and peered into the junkyard.

From what he could see so far, it was empty. He took another breath and entered. The rain poured down on him from above. The clouds roared and crackled. The mud beneath his feet pushed between his toes with each step. The rain made it nearly impossible to see nor hear. He stayed close to the piles of junk, trying to stay hidden. He peered around a corner. He saw no one. He was about to go on when a voice behind him caused him to turn on his heel, getting into combat position.

"Looking for someone?" the voice said.

Private's eyes widened when he saw who owned the voice.

"You?!"

* * *

_**One Hour and Seventeen Minutes Ago…**_

_Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…_

Slowly, Leonard opened his eyes. His vision was slightly blurry and he rubbed his eyes. His surroundings were unfamiliar, and damp. There was some sort of large rusty canopy-like thing overhead, acting as an umbrella, keeping him dry…For the most part.

_Drip…_

Leonard shook his head and ran his paw through his fur to clear it of the rusty water that was dripping on him from the crack in the rusty sheet of metal from above. Just as he was getting to his feet, a voice was heard to his left and he turned.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Leonard turned to meet the face to the voice. "Who are you?" he asked with a crease forming between his eyes.

"Who I am is none of your concern."

"Well, considering I have no idea where I am or how I got here, I'd say it _is _my concern," Leonard protested crossing his arms.

"Don't know where you are? Look around, teddy bear."

Leonard wasn't sure if he should take his eyes off of her, unsure of what she could do if he did, but did anyway. He looked at his surroundings beyond the canopy. This place did look familiar…His face fell in realization.

He was in the junkyard. It looked different soaked in rain and during the day.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked turning back to her.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"And if I try to leave?"

She just smiled…An evil smile that sent a chill down Leonard's spine.

At least he _thought _that was a chill.

The smell of fresh blood and flesh that suddenly filled his nostrils and the constant warm, moist air that moved up and down his back changed that. He closed his eyes and let his arms fall to his sides with a silent sigh.

"I'm sure you remember Killer?"

Leonard, now angry, opened his eyes slightly. "How could I forget?" he replied. "But what do you have against me? What have I ever done to you?"

"You? Nothing. But those _penguins _should be here to rescue you any time now. Then I will have satisfying revenge."

"So, you're gonna use me just to get to them?"

"Well, when Killer and I met—long story short—we made a deal. I'd help him get to you if he'd deal with a couple of enemies of mine. He'd get five meals, I'd have my revenge. It seemed like a fair trade. And everything went just as planned. Now we wait."

A little over an hour had passed. Leonard started to think that they weren't coming for him. That they all thought he was crazy. Maybe it was for the best. Whoever this chick was obviously had it out for the penguins for some reason. And with Killer at her side, she was bound to have the advantage. That's when she came back from scouting the area and told him and Killer that Private had just come into the junkyard. Leonard's heart plummeted.

_Private came back for him._

Killer pushed Leonard forward and the three of them crept around the junk and through the muddy dirt of the junkyard. Rain poured from overhead. Finally, he saw Private ahead, peering around a corner. He wanted to call out to him, but Killer put his paw over his mouth.

"Make a single noise and I'll kill you and your friend on the spot," he hissed into his ear. When they got close enough, she spoke up.

"Looking for someone?"

Private whipped around and his face fell in shock.

"You?!"


	11. Plot Dressed In Blue

"Ugh! This just seems so hopeless…Where on _earth _could he be?" Skipper asked in frustration when there was still no trace of Private.

"I don't know what to tell you, Skipper. You've trained him well," Kowalski replied.

"I know…" Skipper muttered angrily to himself. "What if something happened to him?" he asked no one in particular, his eyes going dark.

Kowalski and Rico examined him sympathetically.

"Now, Skipper, I'm sure he's fine," Kowalski assured him.

"I just wish we could find him. I hope he's alright," Skipper said leaning against a wall.

"Uh…Excuse me?"

The three of them turned their heads at the sound of a small voice a couple of feet away. It was a small gray bunny.

"Sorry, little guy. We're a little busy," Skipper told him.

"I know where Private is," the bunny said just as they started to walk away, causing them to turn back.

"How? F-Forget it, where is he?" Skipper asked, more concerned about where he was than where this little guy got his intel.

"He's in the junkyard. I can sneak you in," the bunny replied.

"Why would we need to _sneak_ in?" Skipper asked.

"If Killer sees you, he'll kill you," the bunny explained.

"Why are you doing this?" Kowalski asked suspiciously.

"Because, Killer threatened me. He made me do all of those things to your friends so they could frame that koala. I want to help."

"So…You really _were _responsible for all that?" Skipper asked slowly, his guilt feeling like gravity was trying to suck him deep into the earth.

"I'm sorry. They threatened to kill me if I didn't do whatever they asked," the bunny replied.

Kowalski became confused. "They?"

* * *

"You?! You're behind this?!"

"Private, who is this?" Leonard asked.

Private ignored his question. "What do you have against Leonard?! What has he ever done to you?!"

"Nothing. It will all make more sense when the other penguins come after you and I reveal my carefully laid out plan to you before I let Killer have his end of the deal."

"And what's his end?" Private asked, unsure that he really wanted to know the answer. He looked at Killer, who licked his lips with a laugh. Private gulped. "L-Let him go! Just take me instead! He has _nothing _to do with this!"

"True, he has nothing to do with _our _tiffs, but he and Killer have some business of their own to take care of. Now, are you going to come nicely, or do we just jump straight into killing you and Leonard?"

Private looked into Leonard's frightened eyes, then back to her, and nodded. He had to think of a way out of this.

* * *

"But what would she want with Leonard?" Skipper asked as he, Kowalski, and Rico followed the bunny to the junkyard.

"I don't know. They just said that I'd better do whatever they said with no questions asked."

"Do you know if Private is okay?" Kowalski asked.

"When I left, he was. I wouldn't know about now. Come this way." They'd reached the junkyard and the bunny led them around to the back entrance.

The rain had let up some and now was a drizzle atop their heads. "Everybody stay quiet…" Skipper ordered taking point. He peered into the junkyard, and when he ensured that the coast was clear, he ushered his team in.

They took cautious steps inside, keeping close eye on their surroundings. The bunny hopped ahead of them.

"Follow me, I know where they have him."

The penguins followed the bunny around the junk and rubbish scattered throughout the junkyard, staying close in the shadows. Skipper's anticipation rose with each step. He had to know that Private and Leonard were okay.

_Please, let them be okay… _he thought to himself. He couldn't live with himself if they weren't.

The bunny turned a corner and when the penguins rounded, they halted in their tracks. In front of them was the Blue Hen standing next to Leonard and Private, who were tied together. When they turned around, Killer was standing behind them with snarling, blood-stained teeth. The muscles in his legs bulged and the skin on his underside was so tight around his abdomen that his chest looked wavy around his ribcage. His red eyes burned into their hearts. They'd never seen anything so terrifying. They turned back to the Blue Hen. Next to her, the bunny sat with his head hanging.

"Excellent work, pipsqueak. And here I thought that you'd betray us," she told him.

"An ambush. We were led right into a trap," Skipper said angrily crossing his flippers. He looked at Private, who didn't meet his eye. He wasn't sure if it was because he was still mad at him, or if it was because he felt ashamed to be seen defeated. Leonard had a hard stare fixed on the crazy chicken.

"Yep. And I must say it was bawk-bawk-brilliant! Bawwk!" she squawked.

"What do you even want with him? He has nothing to do with _our _problems!" Skipper asked angrily.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Blue answered cocking her head tauntingly. "Killer?"

Killer growled loudly behind them, causing the three of them to flinch.

"Move!" he barked. Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico obeyed, stepping forward until they were next to Private and Leonard.

Private finally looked at Skipper. "I guess this proves that I'm incompetent," he said with an annoyed expression.

Skipper's heart wrenched. He hung his head slightly, "I'm sorry, Private," he said softly.

"Whatever…" Private muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Skipper wanted to talk to him, to let him know that he really was sorry, but that would have to wait until later. He turned to Blue. "Alright, you've got us. Aren't you going to tell us your elaborate plan that usually involves stalking us?"

Blue ignored the remark. "Oh, you see, it was all so simple when I met Killer. I was hanging around the park planning my next attack when Killer pounced on me and asked me the best way to get into the zoo unnoticed. Well, after we got to talkin' and he told me his little problem with Leonard, we made a deal. I'd bring him Leonard if he dealt with a few penguin enemies of mine," she explained smiling deviously, and quite proud of herself. "He told me what happened the night before and I knew right away that the easiest way to get Leonard to come out of the zoo with you penguins on his tail was to get Leonard in trouble. What better way than to frame him? We recruited a little gray bunny and negotiated. He'll do whatever we say and we won't kill him.

"He set up the 'little incident' in the otter habitat. Knowing her sensitive nature, setting her in a state of shock would be easy. That way, we could make her think she saw Leonard in her habitat. And with your knowledge that Leonard may have suffered post-traumatic stress would rise your suspicions. After leaving the trace of evidence of Leonard's fur in the lemur habitat, and the discovery of Leonard waking just a habitat away would really start locking the clues together. By the way, slipping a few sleeping pills into your food wasn't too difficult with the help of pipsqueak, here," she said gesturing to the bunny.

"My name's Frederick…" he muttered in response.

"Anyway, after discovering that the patch of fur belonged to Leonard, I knew that you'd go searching his habitat after I had evidence planted there. And I knew that Private's tender heart would see that Leonard was innocent and insist on giving him a chance. So, I was sure to have Leonard's paws soaked in the bloody water before it was taken away, knowing that the residue would remain on for the following few days.

"After the trial went downhill, the next step was putting Leonard at the scene of the crime. I knew that he'd freak out and run away, and you penguins would come running after him. Now, Killer can have himself a decent meal out of all of you and I can get on with becoming Senator of Delaware! Baawwk!" she finished triumphantly.

"Whoa, whoa, really? _Senator_? You're joking, right?" Leonard asked, not fully comprehending the Blue Hen's insanity.

"Of Delaware! Bawwk!" Blue repeated, then turned to Killer. "Okay, Killer, I'm through. Pleasure doing business with you. I'm sure you'll enjoy," she said with a devious grin. She then left them.

Killer stalked forward slowly, blood dripping from his jaw, ears laid back, lips curled back to reveal his abnormally sharp and bloodstained teeth. Private and Leonard quivered, the other three got ready to attack.

None of them anticipated the small can that dropped down in between them, releasing a gas that knocked each of them out.


	12. One Shot, One Chance, One Life

When they awoke, the rain was pouring harder than ever. Thunder cracked and lightning struck. Raindrops smacked into the mud and splashed three to four inches back into the air before landing once again on the ground. Whatever it was that had knocked them out was effective; awakening was a challenge.

When they were fully awake, they were confused. Why were they still alive? Why hadn't the dog eaten them yet?

They were also alone. Though, they were bound tightly to each other, restraining any upper body movement.

"What in the name of Justin Bieber's baby is going on here?" Skipper exclaimed taking in his surroundings.

"Actually, Skipper," Kowalski answered, "Justin Bieber doesn't actually have a baby; that was the name of his hit single that he released in his My World 2.0 album in January of 2010."

Kowalski took notice of the others staring at him as best they could, since they were tied together back-to-back.

"Which I'm…_Totally _guessing on…" Kowalski finished awkwardly.

Skipper rolled his eyes. "Anyway, where is that psycho, Killer, and that deranged hen? Why would they just leave us here?"

"I dunno," Private replied irritably. "I don't know anything, apparently."

Skipper sighed silently to himself. "Private, please. I'm sorry. You were right and I should've listened to you."

"Nice timing to figure _that _out…" Private muttered sarcastically.

"Private, I didn't mean any of those things I said. I was just angry…And I was afraid that you'd get hurt—"

"So, instead of fighting me on it, why couldn't you just come _with _me?" Private shot back.

"Because I was too blind to the evidence that I grew too big of a head to think that I was wrong," Skipper replied.

Private was about to reply, but caught himself. Did Skipper really just admit to being arrogant? Skipper continued before he could say anything.

"You're an outstanding soldier, Private. You're better than sometimes I let myself see," Skipper told him hanging his head.

Private thought for a moment. "Why did you even come after me?"

"Because I was worried. If anything had happened to you…I wouldn't have been able to live with it," Skipper answered.

In the midst of Private's silent response, Kowalski piped up. "Uh, guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but I think we should save this for later. We need to get out of here."

Skipper glanced over at Private, who was to his left. Private didn't look back.

"Right. Kowalski, options," Skipper ordered, though not as stern as usual.

Kowalski looked to his right at Rico. "Got anything to cut through the ropes?"

Rico nodded and regurgitated a small pocket knife and held it in his beak.

"Alright, now, how are we gonna cut the ropes?" Skipper asked.

Kowalski craned his neck to see Leonard next to Rico. "Leonard, you need to cut us loose."

"Why me?" Leonard asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Your opposable thumbs give you the advantage of being able to keep hold of the knife, unlike our flippers," Kowalski replied.

Leonard sighed. "Alright. Give it here."

Rico spit out the pocket knife over his shoulder and it landed in the middle of the circle that their backs formed. Leonard reached for the knife and his claw hit the side of it. He stretched his fingers as far as he could, but he couldn't quite reach it.

"It's…It's just out of my reach, can one of you push it to me?" Leonard asked, perspiration gathering on his forehead.

Skipper, whose back was facing Leonard's, pushed the knife into Leonard's paw just as Killer came around the corner.

"I thought I heard voices. It's good to see you're awake. It's more fun that way," Killer explained with a sickening smile.

Rainwater collected at the tangled tufts of fur hanging from his body and dripped to the ground under him. His ears were laid back and blended in with the fur on his head, making it seem flat and slick. He said nothing, though his current intentions were crystal clear; he had his lips curled back and he hung his head low, the muscles in his legs and back were tensed, and his eyes were as dark and sinister as usual.

With his heart pounding with every step of Killer's paws that he heard behind him, Leonard had already started working at the rope with the pocket knife. He held his breath to keep it from shaking. Seconds seemed to turn into years as he sawed away at the rope, which felt as if it were miles thick. Only one thought ran through his mind over and over again: _Please cut…Please cut…_

Killer's snout suddenly appeared right next to his face and made his heart skip a beat and leap into his throat. His putrid breath would probably be too hot to Leonard's cheek if the coldness of his heart didn't even out the temperature. He looked into Killer's deep red glare out of the corner of his eye and didn't even realize that he'd stopped sawing at the ropes.

"I wonder which one of you I'd like to have first…" he said in a soft, sadistic tone that sent a shiver down his spine.

Leonard gently started at the ropes again in attempt to not make any noise. His anticipation grew with the intensity of the situation, as did the teams'.

"How about you do the right thing and let us go?" Skipper said, trying to stall him as long as he could.

Killer laughed and walked around to Skipper's side so he could see his face. "Do you _really _think I'd just give up five delicious meals?"

"You know there are other ways of getting things to eat without mauling innocent animals," Skipper replied.

"True, but the best part of that is the beautiful _screaming_…" Killer hissed with an evil grin. He chuckled softly at Skipper's Adam's Apple bobbing up and down slowly as he gulped. It was clear why he'd waited to kill them now.

Leonard had started hyperventilating. He actually kind of _wished _that Skipper had the ability to slap him at the moment. He was afraid he'd be too late when at that moment, he heard a tiny snap and felt the knife jerk through the rope and his heart fell back into his chest in hope that they might have a chance to break out.

The penguins felt the rope fall slightly looser around them and their heads lifted, knowing that they could now escape. Killer slowly walked around them in a stalking motion. Drool had collected around his snarling lip and he licked his blood-stained teeth.

"Any last words?" he hissed.

"Just one," Skipper replied. "Rico!"

On command, Rico regurgitated a smoke grenade. Killer grunted in surprise and frustration as he tried to see his surroundings. A few moments later, after the smoke had cleared some, the penguins and Leonard weren't there anymore. He growled low and listened carefully, trying to hear any footsteps or other noises that gave away their position. His attention was diverted when a rock hit him in the side of the head and he turned toward the direction in which it came with an irritated growl.

Leonard hid his fear as best as he could by keeping his face flat and emotionless as he stared back into Killer's murderous glare before he turned and took off running.

Meanwhile, the penguins skidded to a halt just outside the junkyard and Skipper immediately started barking out orders.

"Alright! This ends now! We need to take down this mutt once and for all! And—Where's Leonard?"

Kowalski, Rico, and Private looked around, but Leonard was not with them.

"He's still in the junkyard! What if Killer caught him?!" Private cried.

"Why would he go back in?!" Kowalski asked in a panic.

"We don't have time for questions! We have to get back in there!" Skipper said taking off on a belly slide back into the junkyard. The team followed behind. The rain bored down on all of them and made the ground muddy and slippery.

Leonard slid around a corner clutching the switch blade so tightly in his paw that it dug into his palm, but he kept moving. His thighs began to go numb and his lungs burned. Water smacked into his body and the wind pushed back on him, slowing him down. But he didn't give up. He heard Killer charging after him. His heart was pounding so hard he was afraid it might explode.

That's when he made his mistake.

He swerved around a corner and found himself at a dead-end. He turned around and watched Killer slide to a halt about ten meters away with a wild smile.

"Nowhere to run, now," he said with a shrewd laugh.

One might think that Leonard would be searching for somewhere to run away. That would be wrong. There wasn't any way out on his own.

Killer lowered his head and slowly walked forward with his claws contracted.

One might think that Leonard would be petrified, paralyzed, scared out of his mind. In reality, he was tired of being afraid. He choked down his fear and kept his breath steady.

He and Killer stared hard back into each others eyes.

_This was his last shot._

Killer was only about six meters away now.

_This was his last chance._

Four meters.

_This was his last opportunity to end it all._

Maybe he'd fail. Maybe he'd die. But he wasn't going to let him kill him that easily. He'd made himself look weak to Killer, which gave him an advantage.

_It's time to stop running… _Leonard told himself.

When he was about two meters away, Killer pounced in Leonard's direction. Things seemed to go in slow motion for Leonard as he lunged forward onto the ground under Killer and pushed forward with his foot, sliding under him and then regaining his standing position just as Killer landed and turned back to face him with a frustrated grunt.

Without hesitation, Killer lunged forward again. Leonard threw himself to the side and the shock of his shoulder making contact with the ground caused his paw to lose grip of the switch blade and it flew about a foot to his left and landed in the mud. Leonard's mouth fell open and was about to look back to Killer when he was too late; Killer pinned him down at the shoulders, his claws digging deep into his skin, causing it to break open and Leonard clenched his teeth to refrain from crying out, which would be what Killer wanted.

Killer snarled heavily into Leonard's face. "You didn't think you'd get away that easily?" he asked in a horrid, antagonized voice that droned in Leonard's ears. "You're _pathetic_!"

The pain from his claws burrowing his skin and down to the muscle made his vision go black around the edges and his breathing labored. He was about to lose consciousness when he felt the switch blade next to his left paw. He took a deep breath to try to get some oxygen to his brain as he curled his fingers around it, which was slick with mud, and used his claw to flip out the blade.

It happened all in seconds. He jammed the blade into Killer's leg and he cried out a horrible shriek through a crack of thunder and let off of Leonard. Leonard yanked the blade back out as a piercing sensation surged through his upper body as Killer's claws were pulled from his flesh.

Killer looked back down at him; he was so full of rage it was as if it overflowed out of every crevice of his body. Leonard threw out his arm—despite the excruciating pain—and cut Killer's face with the blade, causing him to stumble to the side. Leonard pushed himself to his feet, trying his best to ignore the unbearable, agonizing burning in his upper body. His grip was tight on the blade.

"Leonard! Are you okay?!"

Leonard turned his head at the sound of Private's voice. The penguins had just raced around the corner.

"Get out of here! Are you crazy or somethin'?!" Leonard called back. He took notice of Killer turning to face him and charging at him again. He pounced on him and they slid across the mud into a pile of junk, causing the pile to fall over and cover them.

"Leonard!" Private cried out at the top of his lungs. The penguins charged at the pile and pulled off the old boxes, wires, springs, broken light bulbs, and other various items from Leonard and Killer.

They expected struggling, thrashing, and blood. Thunder crackled overhead and lightning flashed as Leonard slowly pushed Killer off of himself with his feet. Killer landed on his side next to him and lay still with the switch blade wedged in the center of his chest.

* * *

"This is going to sting," Kowalski told Leonard. There was no emotion to his voice and his eyes were dark and serious. It was the first thing that was said since they left the junkyard. Leonard nodded as Kowalski began swabbing at Leonard's shoulders with a warm, damp, soapy rag.

It stung like hell. The pain shouldn't even have been tolerable. It was much too great. But Leonard did not move, not so much as wince. Nor did he make a sound. He remained sitting completely still on the examination table in the empty zoo vet. In fact, he embraced the pain. He kept all of his pain—emotional and physical—buried inside him and used it to find strength.

Skipper stood atop the windowsill staring out at the sunset. The rain had stopped on the way back to the zoo and the sun peeked out slightly from behind the clouds as it made its descent. Rico guarded the front entrance and Private guarded the back exit. Kowalski scrubbed gently at Leonard's bloodstained fur and wounds, which weren't bleeding as bad as they had been, but still seeped out of the puncture wounds. His body had already started to repair the problem; his blood blackened in clots at the surface of the wounds in attempt to plug them up.

After cleaning off the blood and mud and rinsing off the soap, Kowalski gently wrapped Leonard's shoulders in gauze.

"Do you feel any better?" Kowalski asked him.

Leonard kept his gaze fixed on the other side of the room, where he'd been staring since they'd arrived. As if there were something over there that could help him get through this situation. But he knew that the only thing that would help him get through this situation was time. He remained silent for a moment, then answered.

"Physically, yes."

He, too, had no emotion to his voice. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling. Remorse? Guilt? Relief? Pity? Nothing at all?

The corner of Kowalski's beak curled up slightly in sympathy, but he did not respond or ask any more questions. He turned to Skipper.

"I'm done, sir."

Skipper kept his gaze fixed on the semicircle in the sky for a few more moments, then turned and jumped to the floor. "Let's get to the Zoovenir Shop. I'm calling a meeting," he told them.

About half an hour later, when they'd gotten everyone settled down in the Shop, Skipper explained everything.

He explained how an enemy of theirs—a manipulative hen—made a deal with the dog that Leonard had witnessed maul an innocent pup. He explained how the deal involved framing Leonard and getting him out of the zoo and using him as bait against them. He was sure to mention Leonard's true innocence. He concluded with the fact that there was now no more threat, but spared them the details.

Leonard remained silent and distant through each word, but was sure to let each syllable sink in.

Skipper turned to Private. "…And Private, there's something I need to say to you. I am utterly sorry for _everything _that happened between us before you pursued Leonard. You were right about everything and I refused to listen. You're an outstanding soldier. I almost went crazy looking for you. I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to you. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I don't deserve forgiveness. All I ask is for you to believe that I'm genuinely sorry," he told him.

Private thought for a moment, then smiled. "You really think I'm an outstanding soldier?"

Skipper smiled back. "No," he said, causing Private's face to fall. Skipper then continued, "I _know _you're an outstanding soldier."

Private smiled again and embraced his leader. "I forgive you, Skipper," he told him.

Skipper patted his back and when he pulled away, he saluted him. Private returned the salute. Skipper turned back to the crowd of zoosters. "Meeting adjourned."

As Leonard returned to his habitat, he received apologies from all around. Some said they were sorry they'd ever doubted him. Others simply gave them their apology. Leonard could only find the heart to nod. It wasn't that he didn't forgive them or didn't understand why they had felt the way that they did, it was just that he'd been through too much to be able to bring himself to say anything. When he entered his habitat, he climbed into his tree and laid down.

He should have been tired. He should have been utterly exhausted. He shouldn't have been able to keep his eyelids from enveloping his eye and sending him into a slumber.

But he wasn't tired.

In his mind, Killer pounced on him and his chest landed on the switch blade. Killer's wide eyes stared back into his and were slowly drained of life. His breath exited his lungs for the last time and halted. He felt Killer's pulse through the handle of the switch blade slow and cease.

His shoulders began to throb. Now, he saw Killer standing over him, his claws digging into his flesh…His blackening vision…Killer's blood-red eyes and bloodstained teeth…

He started to wonder what ever made Killer a literal killer. Was he orphaned? Was he taught to be a killer? Was he tested on in a laboratory?

It didn't matter. It was all over now.

Over.

The word seemed to echo through his mind. _Over_. He never thought the word would ever mean something to him.

He thought about the hen. Senator of Delaware? There were certainly many levels of insanity. He wondered where she went.

He felt a small thud at the base of the branch and sat up. It was Frederick, the small, gray bunny. He laid a small, white flower at his feet; it looked identical to the one Leonard was admiring when he first encountered Frederick.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. He then turned and started to descend the tree with his head hanging.

"Hey," Leonard called after, causing Frederick to turn his head toward him. "It's alright. Killer threatened you. It wasn't your fault."

"But he could have killed you and your friends…" Frederick replied.

"Don't worry about it. I forgive you," Leonard assured him.

Frederick smiled a little and nodded, then left Leonard's habitat without another word.

Leonard picked up the flower and examined it. He smiled. It was the first time he'd smiled in what seemed like centuries.

He had one shot to save himself and all of his friends, and he succeeded.

He had one chance to earn back the trust and forgiveness of all of his friends, and he earned it.

He had one life that he now could live, and he was going to live it to the fullest.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, and hopefully enjoyed my first story to be posted on FanFiction. This story was actually requested by LeonardFan just before 2013's New Year's and I'd like to thank him for entrusting me with this project, and for being the first to request from me. It is one of my personal favorites out of the stories I've written because I love mysteries, and this is the first mystery story I'd ever had the pleasure of writing. I also personally like stories involving secondary characters because they are usually ignored. I will be on PM for the next few days if you have any questions regarding this story or regarding my future projects.

Another thanks to all who read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed my first FanFiction story. I look forward to writing more for you all.


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